Photo Credits: Christin Hume from Unsplash
A trademark becomes synonymous with the brand over time, being very similar to your reputation as a business. How can you make sure your trademark is strong, as well ensure its protection? Take expert Kimberley Frith-Delisser’s advice on trademarking!
Understanding a Trademark
Your trademark is any sign that identifies you as the product/service’s source in the market, communicates to the consumer that they are purchasing from you and can expect a certain level of quality. The trademark will become synonymous with the brand over time, consumers will be able to tell if it is a good brand or not from experience.
Trademarking is one of the most valuable assets of your brand. A Coca-Cola factory can burn down, but their most valuable asset is still intact: the branding. The reputation and status they have built over the years can continue to be applied to their products to overcome the financial disaster.
Photo Credits: Umberto from Unsplash
Creating a Trademark
Trademarking starts from inception, so make sure it is strong and distinctive! They can come in a couple different forms:
Fanciful trademarks have no known meaning and are creative, i.e. FedEx
Arbitrary trademarks have meaning that are unrelated to the product/service, i.e. Apple
Suggestive trademarks hint at the product without describing it, i.e. Netflix
A trademark is not meant to describe, it is supposed to be a badge of origin! Avoid descriptive words, they can cause confusion between brands and can be considered too general to be protected! i.e. TRIM for clippers
Avoid words that sound similar to other trademarks to distinguish yourself from the competition and protect yourself from potential infringement! i.e hypnotic and hypnotiq liquor
Protecting a Trademark
Register your trademark to protect it! This will give you exclusive rights to use the trademark throughout Canada, grants automatic proof of ownership and will be protected from infringement from similar or identical trademarks by the Trademarks Office!
If your trademark is unregistered, you will run into some issues. If you see another trademark infringing on yours, it is your responsibility to prove ownership of it which can be difficult. You are also unprotected from infringement in other Canadian cities and do not have the added protection from the Trademarks Office, so make sure you are registered!
Utilize the ™ (trademark) or ® (registered trademark) symbols in your labeling, police and monitor your brand in the market, and make sure you obtain any domain and social media account to prevent it being taken from you, even if you do not initially plan to use them.
Speaker’s Specifics
Kimberley Frith-Delisser is a Brand Protection Lawyer for Mason PC and markedly.ca who has dedicated 6 of her 8 years to working exclusively on trademark and brand protection! She is keen on helping entrepreneurs and foreign associates navigate the nuances of brand protection in Canada through strategic counselling and is always happy to create new connections!
