1. Brand protection stands for trust in your company
Registering your trademark ensures that no one can use it for commercial purposes without your permission. It also allows you to legally take action against the use of similar marks by those who might want to capitalize on your brand's popularity. This protects your customers from receiving the wrong product or service and safeguards your brand from misuse.
By protecting your brand, customers can be sure that the goods or services offered actually come from your company, with the quality and service they've come to expect from you.
Once registered, a trademark is protected for ten years. After that, trademark protection can be renewed for additional ten years.
2. Trademark searches are essential
Conversely, it is also highly advisable to research whether the planned trademark infringes existing earlier trademark rights before registering a trademark, but also before using a trademark.
Because once you've introduced a trademark, you may receive a warning for violating existing third-party rights. Not only will you then have to immediately cease using the trademark, but you may also have to disclose delivery methods, recall or destroy products, and provide information about profits generated. Not to mention the associated reputational damage. If you have to change your company name, you'll have to start all over again. This must be avoided.
Therefore, before registering or using a trademark, it is essential to conduct comprehensive research to ensure that your plans do not infringe the rights of third parties.
3. What is a brand anyway?
A brand serves to differentiate a company's products or services from those of its competitors. For example, many companies produce cars, but there is only one manufacturer in Ingolstadt called Audi.
The brand therefore represents a unique and distinctive term or slogan that is exclusive to your company and may not be used by others.
In contrast, purely descriptive terms such as "success coach" or "tutor" or "smart TV" are not trademarks in the sense of trademark law. These are not terms that can be protected by a trademark. Anyone should be free to use such descriptive terms. They only describe the product or service offered and must be kept free.
This criterion applies in each case with respect to the protected goods or services. A fruit seller cannot protect the term "apple" or "apple" as a trademark. However, a computer manufacturer can protect the term because it is not descriptive but distinctive for computers.
4. Brand forms
The most common type of trademark is the word mark. This is a term used as a trademark and written as it would be typed. From a legal perspective, the word mark is the strongest and most flexible type of trademark, especially if the key criterion of distinctiveness is met. For this reason, we regularly recommend it.
There is also the so-called word-image mark, where a logo can be protected as a trademark. If, on the other hand, you want to protect a purely graphic logo, it is referred to as a figurative mark.
5. Trademark protection with funding of up to 1,000 euros
Solid trademark protection is therefore essential for founders and startups to ensure sustainable economic success. In-depth advice and research avoid costly trademark conflicts and put your project on a solid foundation. At the same time, platforms like Amazon, with the "Amazon Brand Registry," promise additional benefits for retailers who can demonstrate a registered trademark.
A registered trademark is therefore a recommended investment, ideally right at the beginning of your startup.
Until December 6, 2024, you have the opportunity to receive up to €1,000 in funding for your trademark application from the European Union through the so-called SME Fund. The requirements for successfully applying for funding are quite straightforward:
The financial aid is available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs with a maximum of 250 employees and a maximum annual turnover of EUR 50 million) that meet the following conditions:
- Your company must be based in the European Union (EU), regardless of its legal form. A GmbH (limited liability company) is not a mandatory requirement.
- It must be able to present a VAT number (UID) or a tax ID.
- The company must not have received any financial support from the EU for the registration of trademarks or designs in 2024.
You can apply for funding directly at the EUIPO in Alicante. Law firms like ours can also prepare the funding application for you and submit it to the office. We have provided further information and a form for the simple application prepared here.
