Business Name as a Trademark

A business name is simply a company’s officially registered name, whereas trademarking a name means a way to legally protect the business name and prevents the business name from being used by the other competitors in the market. 

When you start a business for the first time, it’s essential to know why you need to register your business name and how to protect your business name.

The Right Time to Start Trademark Registration

To be precise, there is no right time to start with your trademark registration of your business. Ideally, we suggest protecting your business name even before the launch of your business, but if you have passed this time then you need to register your business name as soon as possible. 

Some may think that delaying the registration of business names is fine and there would be no problem in the future, but it’s very risky. You should not wait for any time and should register the business name right away. Business names can easily fall prey to trademark infringement. 

It’s true that you get the rights as soon as you decide your distinctive business name. However, in case any dispute arises, you wouldn’t be able to prove the case if you didn’t do the registration.

Many businessmen think that they will wait and do the registration after they make some money from the business, but it can be a risky deal for you. You don’t need to be a successful businessman for this, anyone can do the trademark registration, whether the business is a startup or a successful one. 

Here is the article to figure out about the costs:
Trademark a Name in a Remarkable Way in the UK; Costs

Protecting Trademark from Infringement

To protect your business name from infringement, it’s essential to register your business name as a trademark. It will not let anyone steal your work, and let the public know that your business name has legal protection. 

The first thing you need to do is check whether your business name qualifies as a trademark. Secondly, you need to see if there’s any similar mark as yours in your area. If any identical mark is found, you need to find a trademark attorney to ensure if it is safe for you to proceed for trademark registration. These are the primary stages when you want to register the business name as a trademark. 

Once you fulfill those criteria, you can file an application to the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). There are many subsequent stages after you file an application such as trademark, examination report, response to oppositions, etc. If you pass all these steps, then you will be granted trademark protection.

To make your registration successful, you need to choose a strong business name from the very beginning because your trademark will be the first interaction of the public to your brand. A strong mark can be divided in following categories:

Generic words

It determines the general services of the products. For instance, “FOOD” for a company whose service is related to a variety of foods. These types of names wouldn’t be registered at UKIPO.

Descriptive trademarks

The marks which are descriptive in nature wouldn’t receive any legal protection. For example, if the name is “Hot crispy chicken dipped with sauce” for a company who offers services to deliver chicken mainly. 

Arbitrary trademarks

These are the most common trademarks which don’t align with their goods or services. These marks can get the trademark protection, For example, “Apple”. The only disadvantage of it is that the company needs to educate the public about its goods or services.

Fanciful Trademarks

These are considered as the strongest mark because these are invented and unique marks which hold no relation with the goods or services provided. For instance, brands like Nike, Adidas, Samsung, etc. These are some fancy names which are unique in nature and can easily get the protection. 

The Reason to Trademark Business Name in the UK

Here are some reasons for why should you trademark your business name in UK:

1.  Registered trademarks will provide clarity about your business. Consumers should not confuse your business with any other business, it will only cause disadvantage to your sales.
2. Avoid legal actions by registering your trademark. 
3. Investors will be more attracted to your business because your mark is registered, and you can provide proof of your intellectual property.
4. Build your brand by trademark registration. If people will see your business name as a brand, then you will have less legal problems. If your name isn’t a brand and there’s a similar mark which is a brand, then you will be forced to change your business name.