Step-by-Step Process to Find Perfect Trademark for Your Brand

If you are a business owner who wants to start a business, then you must be aware that unique brands stand out in the market. Customers prefer brands with unique identity and product or service. So, to protect the brand logo or name, you must know how to get a unique trademark.

In every industry, competition is increasing day by day and protecting the brand becomes a concern to many companies. The solution of this issue is to make your logo, phrase, name or anything be trademark registered. But before that, you must check that your desired name should not exist or in use by another company. For that below is a step-by-step process to find the perfect trademark for your brand.

Choose Unique Trademark  

The very step for any business is to choose a name, and the name should not be similar to an existing brand name, logo or phrase. Mostly, when it comes to registering a trademark, the businesses get confused about the types of trademarks they can register. So, below is a complete list from which you can choose the any type to get trademark registered as per your requirements:

• Word Marks
• Service Marks    
• Logos and Symbols    
• Shape of Goods    
• Series Marks    
• Collective Trademarks    
• Certification Mark    
• Geographical Indicators    
• Pattern Marks    
• Sound Marks    
• Colour Marks    
• Three Dimensional Marks

Here are some other important points to remember while choosing a trademark:

1. Avoid generic names and terms. It is not necessary that your brand name and your business activities will match. You can also select a name which is not related to your product. For instance - Nike, Instagram, Twitter and Starbucks.
2. Choose some part of the name which gives hints about your business. For example - Burger King, Pizzahut, Grammarly and DMart.

Select Different Colour Logo

As per the different studies, it is concluded that humans remember 80% of information when seen visually. So images work better than written text or phrases. It helps to recognise the brand quickly. For example - a logo with a red background and yellow M. You know it’s a logo of McDonald’s.

Here are the important points which you should follow while designing your logo:

• Choose a different colour palette than the existing brands. Before using those colours must ensure they are protected. Examples of brands with colour are nickelodeon in orange, Cadbury in royal purple, Instagram in pink and Twitter in blue.
• Ensure colours will be related to your brand and audience.
• Brand image will be created around the colours in the logo.

If you are not sure about the brand's colours yet, then try black and white logo. In this, the pattern of the logo will get protected, not the colours. This will give you time to do experiments and your design will also get protected.

If you still want help in choosing the colours, then reach out to us and we will help you to select better colours as per your brand identity.

Check the Availability

Your chosen name or logo must be available for registration otherwise you will face difficulty in registering the name. If someone already requests a related mark, then you need to change the logo and in the process your time will get wasted.

So, it is always better to check the availability of logos. You can do this by visiting an official website and then clicking on “Public Search.” A new window will open where you can fill in the details and check if the logo is registered or not.

In case, you want to register your brand name and logo, then you can do it by filing a single application. The only condition is that your logo should be involved with the brand name for registration.

Avoid Prohibited Marks

The following is a list of marks that government does not allowed for registration:

• Should not offend religious sensibilities in any community.
• Not contain any scandalous or obscene matter.
• Not including, Red Cross, the National Emblem, and the Republic. These are prohibited under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act of 1950.
• The natural shape of a product should not be trademark registered such as a shape of coca-cola bottle is trademark registered but the natural shape of a product can’t be trademark registered.
• Marks that are prohibited by the International nonproprietary names convention.

Select Suitable Class for Trademark Protection

After selecting a logo, and colour now it's time to file the trademark registration form. Choose a suitable class for trademark protection, there are 45 classes which are provided in total by a trademark registry for different services and products. Based on your company’s activity, choose the most suitable class.

In case more classes are applied to you, you need to file applications in those classes also. The benefit of this is that you can protect your logo or name in those classes. After applying you can change the class as well. It is better to think of long-term and select classes which you will cover in future.

Conclusion

Now, when you get a fair idea about how to get a unique trademark and its process. Follow the checklist to finalise a name or logo of your brand, keep this checklist with you. So, your logo or name must be unique, different in colour, must be available, does not contain any prohibited sign or word, and should not be similar to an existing brand. In case you want experts' help, reach out to us and our experts will provide assistance in the complete process.

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.