What happens when you trademark a phrase or a slogan? Are you sure that no other company has already trademarked it? If yes, you should probably avoid using it in your marketing strategy. Trademarks are protected intellectual property rights. They cover words, logos, designs, colors, images, slogans, and phrases. When registering a trademark, you should ensure that it contains original elements. Otherwise, someone else might try to use it without permission.
A trademark is a word or symbol that represents your brand, company, or business. Because trademarks are so important, you should always pay close attention to them. When there is a trademark infringement, you might face serious legal issues.
One of the many exclusive rights that a trademark owner has upon registration is the exclusive right to use the mark in connection with the products or services for which it has been registered. In rare cases, the owner of a registered trademark may also forbid the use of the mark in connection with goods or services that are utterly unrelated but are similar to or colorfully identical to already registered goods or services.
When you hear the term trademark infringement, you think of big companies like Coca-Cola and Apple. These are the big companies that have the deep pockets to fight. But what happens when you have a smaller company, and you’re trying to protect your brand? It can be a complicated process, but it is worth it when you protect your business with the trademark.
You might be passionate about your company’s brand but get in trouble with SEO if you are not careful. One of the things you can do to protect your company’s brand is to ensure that you are not infringing on any trademarks. A key to making your brand infringement accessible is ensuring you have a trademark registration.
Is trademark infringement unlawful?
The use of a trademark or service mark without authorization constitutes trademark infringement. This use, made with products or services, could mislead consumers about the source of a good or service, cause them to be duped, or even be fraudulent. Trademark owners have the right to bring a lawsuit if they believe their trademarks are being used unlawfully. If trademark infringement is established, a judge may issue an order prohibiting the defendant from using the mark, and the owner may get financial compensation.
Infringement on a trademark is unlawful. The use sarkari jobs of a trademark or service mark without authorization or authorization when such usage may cause confusion between the original brand and a later-used mark is known as trademark infringement.
A complaint may be made to the prosecutor to start a criminal investigation. The prosecutor undertakes the preliminary inquiry when there are plausible grounds for infringement. If there are adequate grounds, the prosecutor will issue an order recommending the submission of criminal information in court.
Keynotes to avoid trademark infringement
- Keep a thorough record of the factors you considered and why you chose your mark. Be sure you have decided why third-party marks can be distinguished in customers’ eyes.
- Always remember that changing a trademark several times could be less expensive than the potential losses in a lawsuit.
- Work with litigation counsel to assess the risk of litigation and potential damages if you use a proposed trademark but later get a cease-and-desist notice or the threat of legal action.
- The likelihood that you will be held liable for significant damages increases directly to the size of the revenues linked with your projected or existing brand.
- Using easily accessible search engines and databases at the beginning could help avoid problems and save money in the long run.
- Consult with knowledgeable trademark attorneys to better understand the liabilities associated with adopting a possible mark and your choices for reducing those risks.
Trademark Infringement Philippines (PRO TIP): A person convicted of violating the law about a trademark, unfair competition, or false designation faces a sentence of two to five years in prison and a trademark infringement penalty/fine of between Php 50,000 and Php 200,000.
Conclusion
Do you want to ensure that your branding is infringement free? We’ve put together a guide to help you with that. We hope you enjoyed our blog post about avoiding trademark infringements. We know many people are concerned about trademark infringement, and some may need to learn how to avoid it. We have created a blog post for this very reason to help people understand how to avoid infringing on others’ trademarks.