Archive for December, 2009
Trademarks are a kind of IPR that provide protection to certain terms or symbols used by a firm. Their main role is to safeguard the customers from being misled by similar products in the market. however, they also allow the trademark owner to prosecute anyone trying to counterfeit their marks for making personal profits.
Trademark laws provide for legal action in case of dilution of trademark of an established firm and when there is a high probability of creating a misunderstanding in the minds of the consumers.
A trademark can get diluted by the unlawful actions of unscrupulous persons or companies, which can tarnish the reputation of the firm by harming the image of the trademarked product with respect to a particular aspect or in an overall manner. For example, if a trademark used by a company that manufactures edible products is used by another company for marketing rat poison, the customers might mistakenly believe that the former has gotten into a business that compromises the standards of its products.
The likelihood of confusion arises in case of use of trademarks that are identical or so remarkably similar that the customers will be unable to separate the two. The misunderstanding could be with respect to the source of the product, its sponsors, or to any other aspect related to it. The underlying assumption behind this confusion is that an ordinary customer would not be able to recollect the precise details of an item. In such a scenario, the real trademark holder is at a risk of significant revenue and credibility loss on account of an infringement by another company.
However, there are various other claims that are possible with respect to trademark infringement. The trademark holder can take legal action against a company that attempts to sell off its products as ones coming from the company that owns the trademark. Similarly, the trademark owner can also allege unfair competition and other market malpractices.
Discover more about trademark registration Singapore and discover how does a patent lawyer and IP protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.
categories: patents,ideas protection,copyright,business idea protection,protecting business ideas,business value,Intellectual property,IP law,ideas protection
The number of various types of legal monopolies over creations of idea, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law is called Intellectual property (IP). Under intellectual property law, owners have exclusive rights to several intangibles such as musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, discoveries, and inventions; and words. phrases, symbols, and designs. Copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets are four main kinds of intellectual property.
Copyrights give lawful rights to published and unpublished original works. They protect the owner’s rights over pieces like musical scores, poetry, films, novels etc. It gives legal rights to the creator to use the expression of his or her original work in addition to reproducing, distributing, exhibiting or even selling it with complete freedom within the time decided by law. The creator has a claim over his work for more than 50 years, which is valid even after his death and any unlawful use of the creation within this time is treated as an offence.
Patents on the other hand are lawful and official rights that enable an inventor to prevent others from reproducing or selling his or her invention. Typically they are applicable to new theories in the realm of science, inventions in the field of technology and even biological discoveries. The legal cover offered by a patent in most nations is for a span of two decades, after which the invention ceases to be the sole property of the patent owner.
Trade secrets are certain confidential pieces of information that enable a company to score over its competitors in the market. A trade secret could mean anything ranging from a customer database with the contact information of most valuable customers to a unique recipe or even a confidential report. Usually, trade secrets are not governed by any government agency but by strict internal standards and policies of the particular company. Two methods used most often to protect a trade secret are storing it in a bank vault or confining it to a restricted number of executives, so that it is not accessible to several people and thus stays secure.
Trademarks are words, logos and designs that symbolize a particular brand or firm and separate it from the rival brands. Trademarks develop an exclusive brand identity for a firm and generate quick recall in the minds of consumers. Mostly trademarks hold good for 10 years after which a renewal is often required.
Discover more about trademark registration Singapore and discover how does an patent lawyer and IP protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.
categories: trademarks,patents,ideas protection,business idea protection,protecting business ideas,business value,copyright,Intellectual property,IP law
Trademark is an intellectual property right that safeguards certain images, texts etc of a company from being misused by others. The basic objective of trademarks is to ensure that people can purchase the correct products without being influenced by the spurious or counterfeited ones.
A trademark must be unique and distinct enough for the customers to identify it easily even amongst a crowd of similar products in the market. This distinctiveness of trademarks is recognized by slotting them into four basic categories – suggestive, descriptive, generic, and arbitrary or fanciful.
A descriptive mark is one that describes a product with respect to its quality or features like smell, functionality, form etc. Unlike other marks that are unique to a particular commodity, a descriptive mark is not unique and is not capable of being trademarked unless it has acquired a secondary identification and the customers start associating it exclusively with the commodity.
Suggestive marks on the other hand indicate a specific feature of the product. However, consumers might have to stretch their imagination to identify the real relationship between the product and the mark as there is no obvious connection between the two. For instance, ‘Hush Puppies’ is a popular brand name that sells footwear products that guarantee comfort and prevent soreness of your feet. The basic reason behind the brand name is that the problem of sore feet is loosely referred to as ‘barking dogs’ in some states in the US.
Arbitrary marks are those marks that do not have any connection whatsoever with the commodity itself. For example, the use of trademark ‘Apple’ with a logo of a half eaten apple is not at all related to the computers sold under the mark. Likewise, there is no relationship between the fanciful name Exxon and the items sold under the name as the name is a fruit of the creative mind of the marketing agents of the firm.
The final category of generic marks clearly identifies the items, like ‘camping gear’, and they cannot be given any trademark protection due to lack of distinctiveness.
Discover more about trademark registration Singapore and discover how does a patent lawyer and IP protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.
categories: copyright,business idea protection,protecting business ideas,business value,Intellectual property,IP law,IP lawyer,trademarks,patents
In this period of widespread internet usage, trademark laws gain special significance in the cyber world, especially in terms of trademarks for domain names. This is critical if you want to spread the word about your goods or services across to the consumers with the help of your domain name.
A trademarked domain name helps you in taking legal action against any individual, who steals your trademark and attempts to coerce people into believing that their products and services actually originate from you and that you are affiliated to their website.
Getting a domain name trademarked must always be preceded by comprehensive research, in order to prevent any possibility of trademark infringement. The search should involve a detailed study of marks that are quite similar in appearance, pronunciation or even meaning to the domain name you have chosen for your website. Get your trademark registered only after confirming that it will not lead to any potential trademark infringement claims.
For attaining this, it is preferable to hire the services of a cyber law attorney, who can guide you in your online trademark related issues. This will not only enable you to avoid violation claims but also protect you from future conflicts.
It is essential to note in this respect that a domain name can serve as a trademark only if it serves as an identifier of the goods or services of your business, and not just as an online address that brings web users to your site.
Other than domain names and their possible infringement, infringement of keywords is a new problem in cyberspace, wherein original trademarks are infringed and used as keywords in ads posted through Yahoo, Google, and MSN, with the deliberate intention of creating confusion in the minds of consumers.
Making use of such a keyword is not an infringement if the promotional ads result in boosting sales of the products or services behind the genuine trademark, but it is an infringement if the promoter starts making use of it as a weapon for competing against the trademark owner.
Discover more about trademark registration Singapore and discover how does a patent lawyer and IP protection increase the net worth of your business very fast.
categories: copyright,business idea protection,protecting business ideas,business value,Intellectual property,IP law,IP lawyer,trademarks,patents
