Best time to register trade mark?
Prior to Launch
Ideally, the best time to register a trademark is generally as soon as you have finalized the trademark and BEFORE the launch of your product/services. This is because the trademark registration process can take several months or even years to complete, depending on jurisdiction.
This is also to avoid possible infringement due to existing similar/identical trademarks in the market or promoting a trademark which is registrable based on the trade mark law (eg, scandalous/ offensive trademark, descriptive trademark, non-distinctive trademark, trademark consist of geographical name and etc).
Use in-commerce
Alternatively, you can start registration once you are using the trademark in commerce in connection with the sale of goods or services.
If you wait until you have already established a strong reputation and a significant market presence, it may be more difficult to obtain a registration for your trademark.
Registering Your Trademark Early
You can prevent others from adopting and using a similar trademark. This can help to avoid confusion in the market and protect your brand.
Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that while you can use a trademark without registering it, registering your trademark provides a number of important legal benefits. Such as;
- the ability to bring a lawsuit to stop others from using your trademark
- the ability to use the ® symbol to indicate that your trademark is registered and so on.
To summarize, ideally the best time to register your trademark is prior to launch. However, this is often case by case basis depending on your needs and business strategy.
Still not sure when is the best time to register your trade mark? Let us help you, click here to reach out to us.
Image by Image by cookie_studio on Freepik.