Trademark registration
Once your trademark is registered, you will be entitled to exclusive use rights
The trademark is used to distinguish your products and services from your competitors’. It indicates to the consumer the origin of the product or service. It shows that a certain product or service is offered by you and not by your Competitors and it avoids confusion in your potential customers’ mind.
The “stronger” your trademark is (original, non descriptive of the products and services offered, etc.), the better will differentiate your Business from your Competitors’.
Once your trademark is registered, you will be entitled to exclusive use rights.
Your trademark will become part of your Company Assets and just like any other Asset it may be transferred or licensed
What is a trademark?
A trademark registration is effective for 10 years from the filing date and it is renewable as much as you wish. A trademark has to be registered specifically in relation to the classes of goods and services you offer. We will assist you in this before filing the application.
Many things can be registered as a trademark:
- Words
- Drawings
- Shapes
- Sounds
- Products shapes or packaging shapes
- Color matches and chromatic shades.
Very important to know is that the protection of a trademark is territorial, that means that it is limited to the territory in which the trademark has been registered
National
trademark
National trademark
If your Business is limited to the italian territory and the national market, then you can file for a national application. The UIBM (Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi) is in charge of the registration and the administration of the Intellectual Property rights.
European Trademark
European Trademark
If your Business operates across Europe, then you should apply for the European registration: you can ensure protection to your trademark across all the member States of the EU by filing an application at EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office, based in Alicante – Spain). This type of registration is really convenient in terms of costs and protection, but you must take into consideration that as the EU trademark is valid in every member State of the EU, it may be subject to opposition based not only on prior similar EU trademarks but also on national trademark that exists in EU member States. We must specify that this kind of trademark has a unitary effect, which means that if there is a valid reason for a dispute which concerns only one EU country, the trademark lapses in its entirety will disqualify, also in those countries therefore also with reference to countries where there would be no grounds for dispute. The European Trademark has to be effectively used in more Countries of the EU or it maydisqualify for non-use after five years from its registration.
International registration
International registration
If your Business is developed in an international market, your best option is to file the application for an International Trademark under one condition: you can apply only if you already filed for a basic application either national or European. When you apply for an international registration the protection of the trademark is not automatically extended to all of the member States of the Madrid System. Instead, it requires the selection of the Countries of interest when applying. The trademark will be protected in the designated States just like national registrations. We can say that the International Trademark is an ensamble of national registrations managed by a Central Office for some aspects and by the national Offices of the selected States for others. The application for the International trademark is filed at WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization, based in Geneva – Switzerland) that is responsible for a first exam and the forwarding sending of the application to the national Offices of the designated States. The application will be assessed according to the national Laws of those States, so the trademark will be subject to different fortunes.
- Advantage: minor costs than filing applications for every national registration and further States can be quickly designated subsequently at any moment.
- Disadvantage: the procedure may be take longer than that of a national application because every single State has 12/18 months time to complete the examination.
Foreign national trademarks
Foreign national trademarks
If you are interested in registering a trademark outside the Europe and the WIPO System or if you are simply interested in just one or a few Countries and you don’t want to proceed with the European or International registration, you can proceed with a direct application at the National Offices of those Countries you are interested in.
You will not be left alone during the selection process of the type of registration that suits you: we will assist you through all the stages, comparing strategies and costs to let you achieve the greater benefit with the minimum expense.
In more than 40 years of activity we have built strong relatioships with our foreign Agents all over the world. We can assist you with your trademark registration applications wherever your business or fantasy will lead you.
"*" indicates required fields
