by Ben King, Aspiring Law Solicitor
Trademarking stoushes are rearing their heads lately – everything from the quintessential “David versus Goliath” battles to smaller businesses butting heads over brand protection.
In this increasingly global, online world we live in, trademarks are growing in relevance, importance and exposure, and businesses large and small have a lot to gain – and lose.
In my experience, small and medium businesses vary wildly in their approach to developing and protecting their brand through trademarking – from not giving two hoots to careful strategic analysis from conception to protection … and everything in the between.
It’s easy to “set and forget” – develop a logo… and ignore it. But it really pays to give logos and trademarking serious thought from the outset. In today’s global market place, have a good scout around before settling on – and paying for – your logo and any symbols or words enveloped in it. And, if you’re going to in anyway imitate an established brand, think twice and take advice.
Just ask the owner of Martinborough’s “The Codfather Takeaways”, which parodies the hit movie “The Godfather”. He was in the last stages of registering his trademark when a grumpy letter arrived from studio giant Paramount insisting he stopped. Last heard, the owners were standing their ground – but Paramount does have form: two years ago it successfully took legal action against “The Cobfather”, a sandwich salesman in England.
One of the risks in hasty logo development is forgetting the global considerations – your logo might be fine for downtown Wanaka, but launch a worldwide online business, and you might strike problems. Future-proof your brand by checking for other similar monikers and styles – and remember, a trademark can be a word and an image, or both combined.
So, what does the trademarking process involve?
- If you have all your ducks in a row, it’s a relatively easy process, and you can register online with the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand at http://www.iponz.govt.nz/cms
- You can register your trademark for New Zealand, and if your business has a global reach, you might also want to look at protecting your brand internationally.
- Did I mention getting all your ducks in a row? You need to make sure you’ve completely finalised aspects like colour, font and shape – you don’t want to find out it doesn’t work or gel post-registration, and then have to change it and go through the process all over again.
- Also, before trademarking, it’s worth doing a check to ensure yours is not confusingly similar to another brand. Be sure your brand isn’t generic – the name or logo must be unique.
- It costs $150 (plus GST) to register. Check out the info and guides on the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand website before you begin. If you need a hand, or you want to take some initial advice before you start developing a brand to make sure you’re on the right track, we’re more than happy to talk you through the process and offer whatever support you need.
- If you’re unregistered, you can use “TM” after your trademark – but, be warned, it offers only limited protection, and needs to be used with caution.
Is trademarking worth it? In a word, yes.
Your brand is your identity. If you don’t stamp your mark on it, someone else can – and if you haven’t trademarked your brand, you could end up handing it over to a competitor.
Not only can costly legal battles ensue between businesses, but trading with a similar name or brand look to competitors can lead to confused consumers who can’t tell your products and services from your opposition’s.
For the relatively low cost of registering your brand, even if you add taking a little bit of legal advice along the way, protecting your business’ very identity through trademarking is usually a no brainer – especially when compared to the potential losses and costs of failing to do so.