What do we offer?
Our services consist of managing, monitoring, registering and enforcing (word) trademarks, so that you can sleep on both ears. After all, you have built up a reputation for your company for years and it deserves a lasting and strong protection against imitation by others.
Trademark protection is requested for certain countries or regions, regardless of whether the trademark is used there. An application is submitted to the national authorities. Depending on your wishes, you can choose from three options:
Trademark law is governed by the principle of ‘first come first served’. In principle, the first organisation to register a trademark can prevent others from using the same or a similar sign. However, there are limits to this monopoly. After all, trademark rights are a restriction on free competition between companies. When registering a trademark, the products or services for which protection is claimed must be carefully indicated. They are ranked in 45 product groups or classes.
From the time of approval by the authority, the trademark owner will be able to assert his rights to the trademark for a period of 10 years. This can always be extended by 10 years.
At STUDIO | TRADEMARK, we have developed an in-depthexpertise in the trademark protection of word marks over the years. A word mark is the broadest form of protection. After all, you will enjoy protection of the word in any spelling.
Trademark protection
Intellectual property rights are an integral part of professional life today. After all, they represent a large percentage of the current value of companies.
A trademark is an intellectual property right on a sign that distinguishes your products and services from those of your competitors. A trademark can take different forms such as a word, a logo, a sound, etc.
A trademark is not to be confused with a trade name. The trade name is a name that a company uses in the economic process. It is the name under which the company trades. The registration of a trade name at the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises is not sufficient for the protection of the trade name. The right to use a trade name arises as soon as this name is actually used in trade.
This is the major difference between a trade name and a trademark. The mere use of a trademark will not give you protection. It is only at the point when a trademark is registered that trademark law will come into play.
It will also provide you with much greater protection from potential competitors than the use of a trade name. The trade name will only protect you against the use of identical or similar younger trade names, insofar as there is a likelihood of confusion among the general public. It is only protected where that name is used. By contrast, a trademark registration allows you to prevent the use of (younger) trade names, trademarks or other unlawful uses.
One of the most important (application) conditions for registering a trademark is that a trademark must have a distinctive character for the products or services for which it is registered. It can’t have a descriptive character, merely describing the characteristics of a product. This constitutes the most common reason for a trademark authority to reject a trademark application. Misleading trademarks or trademarks against public order or morality are also rejected. Our specialists have an excellent knowledge of the registration conditions. However, it doesn’t stop with the registration of the trademark. In the next phase it is very important to (continue to) monitor the trademark register, so that an objection can be made in time against a third party filing a similar or even identical trademark. At STUDIO | TRADEMARK we regularly screen the commercial register and the various trademark registers for potential infringements.
