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| Registered Trademark of Coca cola |
A
Trademark is the means by which a business makes itself visible in the
marketplace. A Trademark can be any distinctive (not solely descriptive)
name or logo. The best Trademarks are instantly recognizable and
conjure up in the minds of existing or potential customers things like
quality, dependability, or at the very least the source of the goods or
services being bought.
A trademark is often defined as: “a
word, name, symbol or device that is used in trade with goods to
indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods
of others”. A service mark is the same as a trademark except that
it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a
product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" are commonly used to refer to
both trademarks and service marks.
Trademarks provide their
owners with the legal right to prevent others from using a confusingly
similar mark. They cannot be used stop competitors from making the same
goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly
different mark.
Examples of well-known Trademarks are: Coca-Cola, Rolls-Royce, The Apple logo and the Nike “swoosh”.
Why register A Trademark?
Prudent business people register their Trademarks with Patent Offices
to gain an official record of their rights to a particular mark. A
Trademark registration also grants a statutory right, subject to certain
conditions, to prevent others from using the trademark without the
registered owner's permission - i.e. to prevent infringement.
One of the principal aims of a business is to build up the reputation of
its goods or services and by applying for and gaining a Registered
Trademark accelerates the process as it serves notice on would-be
copiers of the serious intent of a business to defend its position in
the marketplace.
If a Trademark is properly promoted and
protected it can be a very valuable asset for any business and can in
some circumstances be worth more than the bricks and mortar of a
business.
Generally, Registered Trademarks are protected for
specific classes of products and services for periods of 10 years, which
are renewal indefinitely.
How Valuable is a Trademark?
There
is much talk today about “the shop front” and “the High Street”. These
terms are used colloquially to refer to business visibility and to
company profile. To provide some indication of the value of a trademark
one needs to look no further than Coca-Cola. Coca-cola is immediately
recognizable. It is an icon for capitalism and private enterprise - and
it is the most valuable piece of intellectual property in the world
today.
The president of Coca-Cola has even publicly remarked
that if all of the company’s buildings, vehicles factories and equipment
were destroyed Coca-Cola Inc would immerge from the ruins and rebuild
itself provided that the Trademark survived. The loss of the Coca-Cola
mark however, would damage the company beyond repair.
It is
estimated that Coca-Cola Inc has a stock value of about 160 billion
dollars, with the value of the physical assets being put at around 20
billion dollars. The value remaining is therefore about 140 billion
dollars. This is made up of its goodwill or the intangibles of the
business. So, for a company like Coca Cola, the most valuable intangible
that they have is the Coca Cola trademark, the Coca Cola brand. Even if
the brand makes up only half of the intangibles of the business then
the Brand alone is conservatively worth 70 billion dollars.
Should you wish to learn more about good will and valuing IP please go
to the Articles section of the Virtual IP library and click onto
Franchising and Valuing IP Articles.
What is the Difference between a Business, Trade or Company name and a Trademark?
Business, Trade or Company names are names under which a trading entity
conducts its business. They are usually used for governmental, company
registration, taxation and financial reporting purposes. Invariably a
company or business name will not contain a logo or other identifier.
Probably only about half of all company names are eligible for
trademark Registration. In fact, many company names are confusingly
similar or so descriptive that they cannot be trademarked. In other
words they do not have the necessary “distinctiveness” to be used in the
marketplace to distinguish one proprietors good or services from
another.
A Company Name can be registered as a Trademark, but only if it is used as such, that is, used to identify wares or services
To be registrable a trade mark must be:
distinctive for the goods/services for which registration is sought, and
not deceptive, or contrary to law or morality, and
not identical or similar to any earlier marks for the same or similar goods/services.
It is important when starting a business to consider not only what the
business is to be called and what name is to be used to attract
customers but also whether or not the name will infringe another
businesses Trademark.
PIPERS highly recommends that before
taking this important step to conduct a thorough search of relevant
Trademark Registers, Company name Registers, Business Registries, the
Telephone Yellow pages (or similar) and domain name registries to ensure
that you are free to use that name in trade.
Should you wish help with such searches please contact PatMark Research, a professional searching service at search@patmark.co.nz or visit their website at www.patmark.co.nz and they will be happy to oblige.
Please also be aware that simply because you have a company name or a
domain name does not automatically mean that the name will be accepted
as a Trademark.
Can I get a world-wide Trademark registration?
The simple answer to this question is no. In general, you need to apply
for a Trademark in distinct regions. However, with the advent of the
European Community Trademark (ECTM) and the Madrid Protocol on
Trademarks it is now possible to apply for a large selection of
countries with a single application.
We would be more than happy
to answer any questions that you have in this matter and assist you in
formulating a cost-effective strategy to obtain a Trademark in one or
more countries. Links to the the the ECTM and Madrid Protocol options
can be found via the “Useful Links” on the right hand side of the
screen.
.For more information relating to a multiple country application please see:
European Community Trade Mark (CTM) by means of the OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) in Alicante, Spain www.oami.eu.int or phone (+34) 965 138 800; or
to register your trade mark through the international "Madrid Protocol"
system which covers various countries around the world which have
joined the Protocol as administered by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) in Geneva. www.wipo.int or phone (+41) 227 335 428.
