Registering a trademark

Trademarks have become increasingly popular in recent years. More often than not, you see news reports about businesses registering their trademarks or finding themselves in a legal battle over them. With this increase in notoriety, you may wonder if you should register your company's trademark, especially if you have a unique name and logo.

Registering your trademark can bring many benefits, but at the same time be quite expensive to maintain. First of all, you should know what a trademark is. It can comprise any phrase, word, design or a mix of all these aspects that identifies your company. It is the way consumers recognize your business and set it apart from the competition.

Most of the most successful companies in the market have registered their trademarks, this includes not only the name but also their logos, which makes them much easier to recognize. If I mention Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Coca Cola or McDonald's you will quickly know what their logos are.

Advantages of registering your trademark

Here are some of the main benefits of registering your trademark:

• It prevents other people from using it: When you register your trademark, you prevent, to a certain extent, other people from using names or logos similar to yours for their own companies. Because when you register your trademark it will appear on the web page that contains all the registered trademarks, and only with a search the person will know that he/she cannot use it.
• Legal protection: By having your company registered you will have a guarantee of protection against any type of legal conflict. In case another company has used logos, names or phrases that you registered as yours, you can file lawsuits for plagiarism to prevent them from using your trademark as theirs.
• Increase your company's recognition: Once you register your trademark for both national and international use, you will be able to use it for all kinds of marketing campaigns, without fear of being sued. If you do not register it, you may be restricted to use your trademark only in your province or state.
• Improve your business image: By registering your trademark, you are free to start generating an image around it. You can use its name and logos to position your company more prominently in the market. The logo and business name are the best way for your company to be identified in a saturated industry, and, by registering them, you minimize the risk of someone else using them and reducing their value.
• It makes your company more attractive to investors: The security that comes from registering your trademark is not only for you; your potential investors will also feel more secure if your company has its trademark registered. If you plan to go through the process of seeking outside investment, you will see that one of the main characteristics that investors look for in a company is that they have a reduced risk of losing their money. By registering your trademark, you communicate to these investors that your business has a strong and lasting legal foundation.
• Make it easier for your customers to find your company: Today's market is very saturated. No matter what segment you have chosen for your business, you will probably have a lot of competition. But by having a unique brand that no one else can replicate, you make it easier for customers to identify your company in the crowd of other companies.
• Conveys credibility for your company: When your trademark is already registered you can start using the ® symbol behind the company name. This symbol automatically conveys credibility and legitimacy to whoever sees it. The client, investor and even competitors when they see that your trademark is registered know that your company is serious and that it claims its own space in the market.

Main steps to register your trademark

To register your trademark, some requirements are necessary, among which are the following:

• Detailed information about the company and its partners.

• The name of the trademark.

• Trademark designs. This should include logos, color palette and other design decisions regarding the company.

• Legal documents, such as powers of attorney if necessary.

• The application fee and procedures.

• Rules for the use of the trademark.

• Services or products that are also associated with the trademark.

Organize the documents specific to the trademark

The first step you must take for the registration of your trademark is to have previously organized all the documentation about your trademark. For this you should consult with the registration entities in your country and locality to know in detail what kind of information should be included.

The most important aspects in this step are the name of the trademark and its logo. For this you must make sure that no one else is using a similar logo or name. It is vital that the logo you design is as unique as possible, in order to facilitate the registration process. Most of the registration entities are dedicated to investigate in detail the market so that there are not two trademarks with many similarities, in order to protect all the involved parties.

Check also what method you can use to send this documentation to them. If you must bring it in physical format or in digital format. And if in digital format it could be in person or completely online.

Compile your company's legal data

This step is also very variable depending on the country where you want to register your company. Each trademark will be required to only be able to be used by a