Friday, November 20, 2009

Procedure For Registering A Trademark

By Laarni Brown

A trademark is a key intellectual property right that helps in protecting the ownership that a company or any other body has over its brand name or symbol. For legal validity of trademarks, they need to be duly registered with the appropriate authority. A registered trademark serves as a notice of its approval by law, thereby preventing any unscrupulous persons from making use of it as it is or in any form that may have a close resemblance such that it can be confused with the original mark.

It is advisable to have your brand name duly registered as soon as you have made a final decision on it. If you delay the registration, there is a chance that someone else will register a similar or even the exact name before you and you will have to relinquish your right of its use.

Firstly, you have to undertake an extensive check on the existing names to verify if the name you want to use is available. You must undertake a comprehensive search for similar trademarks duly registered by other companies to find out whether your trademark will be unique. The database maintained by the registration office can help you figure this out.

The next step is getting the required form for registration and filling up information like the name of your firm, the type of product or service that it offers, and your official address. The form duly filled in should be then submitted with the specified amount of registration fee. However, you should keep in mind that if you fail to do the needed check, then your application will not be accepted and your application fee will also not be refunded.

After your are done with these formalities, you might be required to answer certain queries from the authorities. Such questions are required to be answered within a certain specified time. If your application is accepted, the authorities will provide you with a certificate stating the necessary details of your trademark that will give you all legal rights over your trademark along with right to sue for infringement.

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