Article - Brand and Deliver! – The Value of Trade Mark Protection
Brand and Deliver! : The Value of Trade Mark Protection
Why are Coca-Cola and Microsoft the top two most valuable brands in the world with estimated brand values of over US$60,000,000,000? Why are brands like Apple, Amazon.com, Yahoo!, Samsung and HSBC the top five fastest growing brands of 2004?*
There is extraordinary potential value in every brand. A combination of having the vision to create a viable brand from the very beginning, committing to it and taking the initiative to legally protect it has made these mega-brands what they are today.
This article focuses on the value to small and medium size businesses of early prioritisation of brand strategy and diligent legal protection of their brands. It will identify what makes a good brand and how to get the best out of legal trade mark protection.
What makes a good brand?
Both the buying public and potential business partners form opinions on the basis of brands. The main objects of any brand are to identify the brand owner, establish customer loyalty and convey an appropriate image for the products or services being sold under it.
Any brand strategy must, of course, target its appropriate audience. The strategy must also take account of the differences between selling products and selling services. In the retail industry, for example, consumers may be more influenced by how a particular branded product is perceived by others. On the other hand, with the provision of services the brand may play a more important role in re-assuring the purchaser that the supplier is reputable or that the services are of a high standard.
A good brand must always be impactful and distinctive. When developing a successful brand, owners will focus on being different from their competitors. From the brand name to colour schemes, images to phraseology, successful brands must aim to leave purchasers in no doubt as to what they’re buying.
By concentrating such effort and resources on brand early on, a small or medium sized business will set up a platform on which to build reputation and goodwill as that business grows. What is unknown today may one day become a household name.
Trade Mark Law
The law affords several different avenues of protection which should be considered and where appropriate pursued in every business’ branding strategy. We will focus here on the protection of trade mark registration.
Trade marks will be core to a successful branding strategy. A registered trade mark provides its owner with monopoly rights to use the trade mark in question, thus preventing others from trading off the reputation built up in the brand. To prove ownership of these rights, the owner need simply refer to his trade mark registration numbers. Proving equivalent rights in the absence of a registered trade mark will usually be a difficult process involving the need to produce substantial evidence.
In the UK, trade marks are only registerable if they meet certain legal criteria. They must be capable of:
- being represented graphically; and
- distinguishing one provider of goods and services from others.
It follows that an impactful, distinctive trade mark is far more likely to be capable of registration than purely descriptive words or logos or trade marks lacking in distinctiveness. Obviously, since a registered trade mark owner has a monopoly in a mark, another person will also be unable to use or register a trade mark which is similar to other trade marks already registered for the same or similar goods or services.
Trade marks may be registered in relation to a range of different aspects of a business’ brand. There is often a misconception that a trade mark simply means a brand name or logo. However, trade marks may be colours, shapes, sounds and even smells. As an example, consider brands of chocolate. Which brand is conjured up by the colour purple and which brand is produced in pyramid-shaped chunks? Both are registered trade marks.
Brand owners may attempt to register a UK trade mark, a single European Community trade mark (CTM) which will cover the 25 member states of the EC and/or separate trade marks in a range of countries across the world through the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) depending on their proposed geographical reach.
Conclusion
No matter what stage of development your business is at, the issue of branding should be made a priority. Without a clear branding strategy, you will be unable to identify viable, valuable trade marks and obtain the powerful legal protection that trade mark registration offers.
By considering these issues as early as possible, you will be able to start building value in your brand for the future.
* Statistics taken from Interbrand Corporation’s “100 Top Brands” Scoreboard for 2004.
Published 27/01/2005.
