A trademark is a recognizable design, phrase, or mark that distinguishes a product or service from a particular source from those of others. Sometimes a mark used to identify a service, especially in the United States, is called a service mark. The trademark can be owned by a company, legal entity or individual and is usually found on a label, packaging, voucher, the product itself or sometimes even on company buildings. The primary purpose of a brand is to communicate that a product comes from a unique source and to differentiate it from other, similar products. For example, registering a trademark serves to protect a brand name in order to preserve its original authorship. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights. Intellectual property means a creation of the mind and a monopoly over that mind owned by the owner of that intellectual property and protected by law. Trademarks, patents, copyrights and industrial design rights are all part of intellectual property rights. Any unauthorized use of the trademark by manufacturing or trading counterfeit consumer goods is an infringement of intellectual property rights and is known as trademark piracy. In the event of such an infringement, the trademark owner can take legal action against trademark infringement.
Reasons to register and protect your trademark
Some countries, including the United States and Canada, recognize common law trademark rights, which allow action to be taken to protect a brand name even if a trademark has not been registered on it. Nevertheless, it offers significantly less legal protection than registered trademarks. Most countries now require formal trademark registration in order to take legal action against trademark infringement. Below is a quick guide on how to go through the process of registering your own trademark. If the brand name is already in use before the trademark is registered, it is possible to apply for registration on the basis of the concept of commercial use, declaring that the brand name will be used in the course of trade and giving a date when it was first used used was used. The declaration is usually included in the standard application form, which must then be submitted to the competent authority together with a sample showing the use of the brand name. A pre-existing trademark search for a specific brand name is required before submitting the registration form – this can be done online. Recent big trademark violation cases There can be found numerous trademark infringement cases in the history of intellectual property rights. Each of them serves as a reminder that a violation of intellectual property is as serious offense as violation of physical property.
#1 Louis Vuitton vs Louis Vuiton Dak Fashion designer Louis Vuitton recently won a trademark lawsuit against a South Korean fried chicken restaurant, Louis Vuiton Dak. The court ruled that not only the name of the restaurant is too similar to the fashion brand, also its logo and packaging closely resembled designer’s iconic imagery.
#2 Starbucks vs Freddocino In 2016, Starbucks took a legal action against the company owning the Coffee Culture Cafe in New York after it launched a drink called the Freddocino. Starbucks owns a trademark for the term Frappucino and states that not only both names have too many similarities, but also both drinks have the same structure and visual appearance.
#3 3M vs 3N 3M commenced a legal action against a Chinese company using a brand name 3N and won stating that the company managed to acquire clients and a significant market share thanks to similarities with the 3M and its high distinctiveness and reputation of this brand name.