What can I trademark?
You can trademark any sign – whether a word or logo – that can be represented graphically and that can distinguish your goods or services from that of someone else providing the same goods or services.
You cannot apply for a trademark that is descriptive, customary in trade, generic, or otherwise incapable of distinguishing your goods or service from someone else’s.
Must I do a trademark conflicts search?
Trademark preliminary searches serve to study and assess whether your proposed brand is available for registration. Preliminary searches help identify potential obstacles to registering or using your mark – especially whether your mark is so similar to prior marks on the register that use of your mark might attract confusion.
If you start using the mark without a proper search, you might risk infringing someone else’s rights to a prior identical or similar mark, which may lead to such actions as cease-and-desist letters to discontinue the usage of the infringing mark, all the way up to a trademark infringement lawsuit.
Which class should I file my application in?
Most intellectual property offices adopt the Nice trademark classification system, which classifies goods and services into 45 different classes. The first 34 are for goods, and classes 35 to 45 denote services. The class headings provide a general idea about which classes would be relevant to your trademark application.
As the pre-defined classifications are inherently limited and may not necessarily always be the best fit for your application, the most efficient and convenient way to cover all bases in your application would be have this specification professionally drafted.
Can I use a trademark while I don’t have an active registration for it?
Yes. You can use a trademark while your application is pending, and in certain cases, even after it has been refused. A mark that has no registration (whether because there was no application, the application was still pending, or the mark has been refused registration) has no statutory rights attached to it. However, it remains protected under common law, among others, by the tort of passing off.
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