In the competitive world intellectual properties of the business are very necessary to protect. One such property is a trademark of the business. People who are in the business world are very well aware about its importance for the business. It is one of the various types of intellectual property. It is governed by the Trademark Act of 1999. To protect the trademark of one’s business, it is necessary to obtain trademark registration. Obtaining trademark registration is a long process. Hence one must apply for the registration of a trademark as soon as possible. There are different types of trademark in the market. It depends on your trademark in which category it will fall. Among the various types of trademark one needs to option only that one which is suitable for the business.
What is Trademark Registration?
Tangible and intangible are the two types of properties which need protection of law. It is easy to protect the tangible properties but vice versa for the intangible properties. One such type of intangible property is trademark. Trademark can be a sign, symbol, mark, or logo. They are in different patterns and color combinations. They are unique and help in recognizing a particular type of brand. To protect them from any kind of infringement one needs to obtain registration under the Trademark Act of 1999. And that registration is known as Trademark Registration in India. Some of the important tips regarding this registration are mentioned below:
- Make sure that your trademark is unique so that it will not face rejection
- Hire a trademark attorney so that he or she will do it perfectly without committing any mistake
- Documents must be collected before the registration process start
- Make sure your trademark is directly or indirectly related to your business
- Trademarks must not fall under the prohibited marks. These are the marks on which trademark cannot be obtained
- Obtaining MSME registration will help you in cost cutting of the trademark registration
Some Important Types of Trademark
There are different types of trademark in the market. It depends on the mark, symbol, logo or sign in which category it belongs to. Some of the key types of trademark are mentioned below:
Product Mark
There are two types of things sold by any kind of business. These two things are either goods or services. Some businesses sell goods or some are dealing in services. There are some which are in both which is not a big deal. It is very common in the market. When businesses which fall under the category of “seller of goods’ ‘ obtain a trademark, they opt for product mark. In short we can say that a mark which is obtained by the business owner in order to use it on their goods is known as product mark. Such types of trademark fall under the trademark class from 1-34.
Service Mark
Businesses which are in the service sector obtain a trademark which they are going to use on their services is known as service mark. It is just opposite of the product mark which is defined above. Service marks are found between 35-45 classes of the trademark. It is necessary to determine the particular class in order to complete the registration procedure for the trademark.
Collective Mark
These are the trademarks which have been used to collectively represent particular types of goods and services. They represent the distinguishing feature of the particular goods or services. They are associated with both goods and services. Here there is no difference like product mark or service mark. Some of the common collective marks are marks used by CA, CS, Lawyers etc.
Certification Mark
There are some marks which have been used for the purpose of showing the quality of the product. Such kinds of marks are known as collective marks. They are usually for the customers. The purpose of these marks is to let the customer know about the quality of the product. The best example of such marks is the FSSAI mark which has been there on every food item. For using this mark food business owners obtain permission in the form of FSSAI license which indicates to the customers that food is of good quality.
Shape MARK
It may sound a little bit weird but yes there are shape trademarks as well. Trademark registration which has been given for the particular type of shape is known as shape trademark. The best illustration for the same is the bottle of coca-cola and the bottle of the fanta. These bottles are so familiar now that people start associating them with a particular brand. Now the same shape of bottles cannot be used by any other brand as they are having shape trademark registration.
Pattern Mark
Pattern marks are the most common among the various types of trademark. These are basically those trademarks which are obtained on a particular kind of pattern which is unique. In the Indian market these trademarks are the most common. Most businesses in India are having this kind of trademark registration. In pattern trademark pattern must be unique and not resembling somebody else’s mark.
Sound Mark
Sound marks are usually not so common. Not everybody obtains them. There are very few businesses who opt for sound marks. Some of the examples of this category of trademark are the sound which we heard while starting our computers and the unique ringtone of the apple phones.
Benefits of Trademark for a Business
Some of the common benefits of having different types of trademark registration are given below:
- Protection against the infringement of the trademark
- Nobody else can use the mark
- Your brand mark is protected
- Unique association is given by the mark
- Reliability and credibility to the business.
- Unique identity for the business
Conclusion
Intellectual property is one of the most relevant factors in the growth of any kind of business. Hence it is very important to provide protection to the intellectual properties of the business. Trademark is also a kind of intellectual property which plays a very important role in the creation of a brand. There are different types of trademark, one can obtain that is suitable for his or her business. Trademarks are protected by obtaining registration for them. It can be obtained through online application. But the application must be filed carefully. There are various things one needs to fill in the registration form. Make sure all of them are correct because incorrect information may result in rejection or delay of application. If you are a business owner looking for trademark registration the best thing you can do is hire a professional. After that all your work will be done by him. You don’t have to worry about anything.
