From Google to Godrej, there appears a symbol of identification of these brands. A lot of thought is put into designing the end result that we as common people recognize the brands by. These are called trademarks of the product/ service.
A trademark is a unique owned sign, design, or expression set to distinguish products or services from a particular source from those of other sources. In layman terms, trademarks are logos. They represent a company or business, their products and services. Trademarks ensure that their products/services are not falsely claimed by another without their consent. In order to legally register a trademark, it requires to be capable of being represented graphically (on paper), it should be unique and different from any existing trademarks, and it should be used to indicate a connection in the course of trade between goods/services. The government collects revenue in the form of a fee of registration and protection of trademark. The function of a trademark can be summarised in four, it identifies the goods/services and its source; it guarantees no change in the quality; it advertises the goods/services; and it builds a market image for the goods/ services.
Any individual can claim to own a trademark that he/she claims to be used by them. A written application can be administered via the e-filing gateway on the government website or handed in personally in hard copy at the appropriate office. There are various types of trademarks that can be registered by the law of India, including, names (first or last name, signature), an invented word/s that is not directly descriptive of the character or quality of goods/ services, combinations of letters and numbers, devices, symbols, monograms, combinations of colours, combination of colour with word or device, shape of goods, 3-dimensional signs, sound marks when represented graphically.
The registered owner of a trademark procures certain rights of the trademark with compliance to certain limitations with which it is registered. Registered trademarks are indicated using the symbol “R”. He/ she can restrict others from using his trademark (without prior permission), press legal charges if required. However, due to special circumstances, if two identical trademarks have been registered, the owners are not liable press legal charges against each other. Trademark registrations have a renewal every 10 years from the year of registration.
If a trademark is not registered with compliance to government regulations, no legal charges can be held in case of replication or similar trademark forgery. Apart from protection of forgery of the trademark itself, registering a trademark protects the investment from violation. Beyond a specific region, trademark registration is mandatory for expansion of the business. The value of a trademark increases over time as the familiarity and demand of the goods/ services increase in the market, which is then known as a brand. Lastly, in case of company acquirement or seeking licensing agreements, a trademark registration is a mandatory requirement.
In a growing organization, trademark recognition facilitates the process of recruiting employees. The higher the value of the trademark (the higher popularity of a brand) the easier the hiring process. Besides being easy, it draws talented and potential talent to the company, which in the long run can fetch benefitting results.
Amongst all the competition rising in the market, trademark sets aside an easily recognisable visual identity to the product/service. More often than not, professionals are outsourced in creating trademarks, as they are trained to craft unique trademarks that are eye-catching as well as leave a wide spectrum open to advertise the products/ services in various ways in future.