The importance of a trademark registration

The registration of a trademark can be a winning strategy to promote one’s products or services over those from other competitors. A trademark is in fact a distinguishing corporate feature, a powerful tool for client retention, making the spreading of products and services associated with it easier and quicker. It is not a case, then, that today bearing a trademark is an essential element for marketing: even sportsmen have one.

When one think about the possibility to register a trademark, there are many questions whose answers are not easy to find, unless one looks for the support of people who are familiar with the subject.

Here are the answers to some of those questions.

Why is it so important to register a trademark?

Because it is an element that can be immediately recognised, easy to associate with a series of characteristics, passing automatically to all products and services where it is applied. A well-known trademark becomes an asset for the company which owns it, and it is often the true target of purchase offers.

Who can register a trademark?

To register a trademark, it is sufficient to have a VAT number. It should not necessarily be an enterprise: a natural person with a VAT numeber, such a freelance professional, can register their own trademark.

What can be registered as a trademark?

The Industrial Property Code allows the registration as a trademark of any sign that can be represented graphically: words, drawings, letters, digits, sounds, colours. The question is a little bit more complicated in the case of the registration of people’s names (if different from the name of the person applying for the registration) and shapes (that could remind the shape of other products).

What should be done to register a trademark?

The procedure to register a trademark is not difficult, but there are many provisions to comply with and the relevant legislation is wide, so it is always better to avail oneself of the support from specialised agencies and professionals that are familiar with this sphere and its procedures. The registration of a trademark includes in fact the submission of a series of documents, as well as the payment of several taxes and fees. For this reason, specialised agencies usually send their clients a detailed quotation including all the procedures and payments.

And finally, the most frequently asked question.

How much does it cost to register a trademark?

First of all, the amount of the registration tax depends on the place where the trademark is registered (either Italy, Europe, any country adhering to the international trademark, etc.). It also depends on the number of goods classes to be included under the same trademark.

Unfortunately, there are also expenses that cannot be forecast, and that mostly depend on the countries where the trademark is registered. These could in fact require further documentation, whose submission may involve some costs; many States require the payment of a fee to release the registration certificate or evidence demonstrating the use of the trademark in the country. Moreover, possible legal costs to protect the trademark in a foreign country cannot be excluded.

The core of the issue is may be the fact that there is no single procedure allowing the registration of a trademark all over the world: this fact increases the costs, because each case must be examined autonomously. It is therefore confirmed that it is always better to be supported by qualified professionals that can ensure all the assistance needed to turn our trademark into a winning move for the company business.

Foto di Colin Behrens da Pixabay