The creation of a valuable intangible asset for the business and assistance in preventing unlawful use of the mark are two benefits of having a registered trademark. Although the procedure of tm registration in india is drawn out, it normally takes 12 to 18 months to find out the ultimate outcome of a filed trademark application. The work put into brand building will be safeguarded if the trademark application is ultimately accepted and the mark is registered. However, there is a chance that the trademark will be in danger if the mark is not registered for some reason. As a result, we examine some of the most common causes of trademark application rejection so that these errors can be avoided when selecting a company name or trade name.
Generic Terms
Words or phrases that are frequently used and are typically found in dictionaries cannot be trademarked. For instance, a business cannot trademark “CHAIR” in order to sell chairs. Chair is a general term for the product, so one business cannot be granted the exclusive right to use it.
Descriptive Terms
Additionally, because they would be regarded as descriptive terms, words that are often used to describe a product cannot be trademarked. For instance, the descriptive beverage trade mark COLD is likely to be rejected. It would be unfair to grant a business the sole right to promote their beverages as “COLD.” Therefore, these descriptive names for goods or services cannot be protected by a trademark.
Qualitative or laudatory phrases like RAPID, BEST, CLASSIC, or INNOVATIVE cannot be registered as trademarks unless they are a component of another distinctive mark.
Deceptive Trademarks
Trademarks that could mislead consumers about the nature, caliber, or place of origin of the product are considered deceptive trademarks. For instance, a polyester product’s trademark that has a cotton connotation would be disregarded as misleading.
Offensive Terms
A trademark cannot be registered if it contains derogatory language or words that are immoral or against the law. Additionally, trademark registration is typically not permitted for phrases or symbols that are deemed offensive or defy established moral standards.
Marks Similar to an Existing Trademark
Many trademark requests are turned down because they might compete with an already registered mark. Contravening the laws governing intellectual property, having two identical trademarks would confuse customers. Therefore, any trademark that is similar to or might be mistaken for an already registered brand would not be registered.
Official Marks
Official names, flags, armorial bearings, hallmarks, and insignia of governments and international organizations are protected by national regulations, thus these elements cannot be used in trademarks.
Choosing a Business Name
To improve the chances of choosing a business name that can be trademarked, follow the checklist below:
- Ensure that the mark does not fall under any of the categories listed above.
- Perform a trademark search to ensure there are no similar trademarks.
- Perform a domain name search to ensure that the domain is available for the mark – to avoid any cybersquatting in the future.
- Get consultation from a trademark expert, if in doubt.
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