How To Protect Your Trademark From Infringement

Trademarks can be a powerful tool for building a unique brand identity. It’s an easily identifiable reminder of your business, which improves top-of-mind recall and product affinity. In a competitive business arena, there’s always jostling for consumer attention which results in sometimes unethical infringements of trademark which can dilute your brand.

There are several measures which can be taken to prevent trademark infringement. Choosing the right trademark and using it properly can go a long way in preventing unauthorised display of your branding. However if your trademark is still being infringed despite your best efforts then engaging our trademark investigation services to protect your brand and business identity is highly recommended. Here’s how to protect your trademark from infringement.

A strong trademark fosters clear identification of your brand and protects against unethical infringements. If your trademark is a generic description of the products or services you offer, you might not even be given permission to register it officially. Trademarks consisting of invented terms that are unique to your business provide the best protection as it’s unlikely that they could be used by competitors in reference to the same range of products.

The drawback of invented terms comes from having to put in more effort to create customer recognition. A middle ground between invented terms and generic descriptions come in the form of suggestive, descriptive, or arbitrary trademarks.

It might seem like an obvious step, but it’s absolutely essential that you do a comprehensive search before investing in a trademark. A term you deem entirely unique, might already be in use by another business.

Doing the research can go a long way in preventing trademark infringement. By ensuring that the chosen trademark is different enough, you can head off any issues with brand confusion that might arise later on.

Once you’re committed to a trademark you need to move on to officially registering it. A registered trademark is akin to a property and can be licensed and assigned. Some benefits of registering a trademark include preventing others from copying it, exclusive usage of the trademark, licensing for commercial use by third parties, and an increase in perceived value of your brand by consumers.

Registering your trademark offers you the legal protections you need to prevent trademark infringement. It is valid for ten years and has to be renewed as and when required.

Registering your trademark alone may not always protect it in some cases. Business owners must also use it continually and consistently in commerce. If the general public, and especially your consumers, are not aware of or familiar with your trademark, it weakens your position when defending your brand identity.

Should you suspect someone infringing on your trademark, then your next course of action is to engage trademark investigation services. These investigations will be conducted by experts in the field who use specialised tools to identify, flag, and investigate potential trademark infringements in Singapore.

If you are planning a lawsuit against third parties who are passing off as your brand or business, investigative services are able to procure the required evidence for you to submit in court and protect your trademark.

Trademark protections, investigations, and infringements are a niche topic of study but nevertheless, remain important for companies big and small. By understanding the basics of trademark protections, you can take the first steps towards building a brand that is recognisable to consumers and shielded against unethical competitors.

Looking for trademark investigation services in Singapore? Contact us via our website today with your questions and requests. Our highly qualified team will get back to you with our responses promptly.