The key asset to any business is its brand. Responsible for signifying what’s on offer, brands serve to set businesses and products apart in the marketplace. The brand will also depict a business or products identity – consumers identify with a certain quality, feature or image portrayed under the brand, and recognise it as pointing to the products of the brand they’ve come to appreciate.
It’s also safe to say that a strong brand is imperative to driving consumer choice and in turn economic results. For this reason, businesses will expend huge amounts of money to consistently display the brand across its range of products, and throughout all advertising and marketing activities. Quite an investment, particularly given the brand name is the centrepiece to almost anything a business ever produces!
So, what’s the formulation of ensuring that your brand investment is secure, with your brand name capable of seeing you through the long-haul of your business journey?
Investing in a legally protectable brand requires careful consideration of:
- The make-up of brand name itself – including meaning attached to the word elements, visual and aural qualities, and any potential connotations it may possess;
- The products and services to be offered under the brand;
- The markets of interest to the business, including future markets that might already form part of growth and expansion plans;
- All closely related brands currently in use by third-parties, including all rights held by third-parties in respect of the same or a similar brand, in use in respect of the same or closely related product offerings, within each relevant marketplace.
Each of these considerations is crucial to ensuring that a brand is capable of being used and registered by a brand owner, in respect of their product offering and proposed business activities. Put simply, each of these considerations is crucial to ensuring security in brand investment and the certainty of ongoing use. Without ensuring a brand name meets each of these criteria, any use and associated investment of the business in the brand will be at stake.
Incorporating trade mark considerations into the brand development process is therefore crucial to ensuring the brand name ultimately adopted is capable of providing the greatest benefit to the business. Importantly, it will also avoid the heartbreak of investing in a brand, only to find it’s not a viable alternative.
We offer a number of brand clearance services designed to assist business owners ensure they’re investing in a legally protectable brand, locally and internationally. For more information on our brand clearance services, please contact us.
