Is a trade mark right for you?
Are you or your company/organisation even eligible for a trade mark? If you want to own a trade mark you need to be one of the following:
- a company
- an individial
- an incorporated association
- more than one of these, if there is more than one owner
Other entities that can own a trade mark are:
- an unincorporated association (which can only apply for a collective trade mark)
- a body existing under legislation
Requirements
There are several requirements that the applicant must also meet, including:
- they can’t be a trading or business name
- they should be the owner(s) of the business registration
- registration should be in the corporation's name (if owned by the corporation) and not in the name of directors or shareholders
- in the case of trusts, it should be in the name(s) of trustee(s) rather than the trust name
It is also important to note that if the trade mark is to be used by a corporate entity that is about to be formed, you can assign the trade mark to the new entity once it has been established.
a trademark search is key
Another extremely important point to make regarding whether a trade mark is right for you, is that the trade mark is most certainly yours! You can't use another person’s trade mark as your own. This is known as passing off, and is an offense in most countries. You need to be sure that the mark is yours and that you are not using a mark owned by someone else. The relevant searches need to be conducted to ensure that your marks for your specific classes of goods and/or services are eligible for registration.