You are not legally required to register your trade mark to use it. However, by not registering your mark you stand to lose out on the legal protection and other benefits listed above. An unregistered mark is also harder to protect because you must rely on the law of passing off or take proceedings under the applicable law of your country. Such actions can be more difficult to prove and can involve lengthy and costly litigation.
There are numerous benefits to registering a trademark and utilizing the trademark services of a lawyer. Registering a trademark has many common benefits, according to Canadian patent agents.
- It heightens the protection it receives,
- It deters others from using your trademark, and
- It increases the remedies should someone infringe upon the trademark.
- Using a trademark agency Canada, such as Wilson Patents – patent & trademark agent firm Canada, increases the likelihood of receiving all of the benefits discussed below.
Trademark Registration Protects Your Brand
- Registering a trademark protects a company’s name or logo, which is often a company’s most valuable asset;
- Registering a trademark grants the trademark owner receives exclusive nationwide ownership of the mark;
- Registering a trademark decreases the likelihood of another party claiming that your trademark infringes upon their trademark;
- Registering a trademark provides official notice to others that a trademark is already taken; consequently, a company that later adopts a confusingly similar trademark cannot claim ignorance of the mark;
- Through registering a trademark the trademark owner obtains the future right to make the mark “incontestable,” which provides conclusive evidence regarding the validity of the mark and of the registrant’s exclusive right to use the mark; and
- Registering a trademark in the United States can be used as a basis for obtaining registration in foreign countries.
Trademark registration offers greater remedies
- Registering a trademark grants the trademark owner the right to recover up to triple damages and fees of their trademark lawyer from an infringer;
- By registering a trademark the trademark owner receives the presumption of being the valid owner of the mark;
- Registering a trademark increases the likelihood of the successful filing of a dispute resolution policy for an infringing Internet domain name; and
- Registering a trademark gives the trademark owner an automatic right to sue in federal court.
Trademark registration restricts others from using your trademark
- By registering a trademark, the trademark owner obtains the right to put a “, after the mark, alerting others to your registration and preventing the defense of innocent infringement;
- By registering a trademark the trademark will appear in trademark search reports ordered by others, likely discouraging others from proceeding with the registration of the same or similar mark; and
- Through registering a trademark the United States Patent and Trademark Office will refuse registration to any trademarks it deems confusingly similar to the trademark.
Conclusion
Since the process is time consuming and requires extensive research, you can rely on registered trademark agents Canada for it. Although, you will be paying them for their service, once you get the ownership, you’ll realize, it’s something worth paying for.