Taking stock of your assets
We are well into the New Year and it is always a good time for new beginnings, to take stock on our progress, and, for start-ups, it can be a good time for getting all your ducks in a row and making sure everything is in order.
Your brand name is an important asset and, in most cases, distinguishes you from your competitors. It is important to protect it so that others don’t take advantage of your rights in that name. This is something we have often mentioned in our articles on this website.
A common mistake, especially in start-ups, is thinking that having a company name registered gives you adequate protection for your brand or trademark.
A company name is not a Trade Mark
This is simply not the case. A company name simply means that no other trader can have exactly the same company name registered as yourself. Having a business name registered, which is simply the name you choose to trade under, grants you no protection whatsoever. In fact, two companies operating in the same business “space” could have the same business name registered.
Trade mark registration grants the holder of the registration exclusive rights to the use of the trade mark in connection with the goods or services covered by the registration. A company name registration does not grant the same level of protection
If you have a company name registered and no trade mark registration you could be leaving yourself vulnerable to a competitor copying your trade mark or brand name which would be detrimental to your business.
Remember your Trade Mark
So when setting up your business and developing your brand make sure that you protect your trade mark properly, in all the markets of interest, and remember that registration on the company or business name registers is simply not enough.
If you would like to discuss this or any other aspects of your intellectual property requirements why not contact us here at Maclachlan and Donaldson at mail@maclachlan.ie and have a talk with one of our Attorneys.