The essence of a trademark, types and differences from trademarks

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It is possible to distinguish your products on the market in different ways - by improving quality, conducting aggressive advertising campaigns, providing discounts. One of the most effective options for product identification is the use of designations in textual, graphic, combined and other forms. Such objects can be registered in the form of a trademark, which would establish its protection against unauthorized use by others.

Trademark and trademark distinction

In business, the term "trade mark" is often used. In particular, this term is used in the U.S. legal system, where a company can obtain a patent for a trademark. The legislation of the Russian Federation contains only the definition of "trademark", which is officially used for registration and consolidation of rights.

There are no differences between these concepts, they have equal legal meaning and give rise to the same set of rights. Moreover, when registering a designation at the international level, a company will use the concept of "trademark" in Russia, while in other states this object will be referred to as a "trade mark". Let us highlight the key features that characterize these designations:

trademarks belong to the objects of commercial property and can only be used to identify products;
only commercial entities - legal entities and individual entrepreneurs can act as the owner of such objects;
exclusive rights to the designation will arise only after registration and issuance of a certificate - this procedure is carried out by the patent services.

Thus, to use or transfer the rights to a designation in Russia one must use the official legal interpretation - a trademark. The definition "trademark" can be used unofficially - in correspondence, in advertising campaigns, in negotiations.

Types of trademarks

In order to secure the rights to a designation, a company must submit it in a certain form. The law allows the registration of designations presented in the following forms:

text objects - combinations of letters, numbers and symbols, words and phrases, abbreviations;
graphic objects - images, drawings, graphic elements;
combined forms, i.e. a combination of fragments of text and graphics;
sound, three-dimensional and other forms.

Similar rules are enshrined in international conventions, legal systems of other states.

The form of designation must be stated in the application. At the same time the company must provide a description of the object, which discloses the meaning of symbols and fragments, the semantic load. If the designation is expressed in the form of text or graphics a set of images, verbal expression must be presented. For sound designations a musical notation, a file with music or other sound may be submitted.

What can't be registered?

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation and international acts contain a number of prohibitions and restrictions which will be taken into account when considering an application. Registration will be denied if the subject matter lacks distinctiveness or is identical and confusingly similar to already protected designations. This check is carried out in Rospatent at the stage of examination of the designation.

We will highlight a number of other prohibitions under which a designation will not receive legal protection:

if the object can mislead consumers about the properties of the product and its manufacturer;
if the sign contradicts the principles of morality, morality and humanity, public interests;
if the fragments occupying the dominant position in the designation are unprotected objects - for example, are generally accepted designations and terms, contain state symbols.

The listed restrictions are stipulated not only by the national legislation of the Russian Federation, but also by international conventions. It is possible to foresee all the possible reasons for refusal at the stage of preparing the application. For this purpose it is possible to carry out a preliminary information search in registers and check the content of the application with the help of lawyers or patent attorneys.

Our specialists provide a full range of services in the design of application documentation, support of the application in Rospatent, the settlement of possible disputes during the examination. We will eliminate all the reasons for refusal when preparing the application and, if necessary, we will challenge the refusal decision of Rospatent.

When a trademark is considered protected

The regime of legal protection arises only from the moment of registration of the designation in Rospatent. For this purpose, the following stages must be passed:

preparation of the application - its content includes an application, designation and its description, a list of product groups according to the classification of the Nice Classification;
submission of documents to Rospatent - this can be done directly to the office of the office, by mail, or in electronic form through the official website;
publication of the application in the Bulletin of Rospatent - at that moment, the applicant will get national or conventional priority, which gives an advantage over later applications of competitors;
Formal examination - the completeness of the application and correctness of the forms will be checked;
Expert examination - Rospatent specialists will make an information search through the registers, check the distinctiveness of the mark, absence of prohibitions and limitations;
If all the examinations are positive, the information about the right holder and the object will be entered into the register, and the applicant will receive a certificate for the trademark.

Data on the registered designation will be published in the Rospatent Bulletin. Immediately after registration the exclusive rights to the designation will arise and it will be protected from unlawful use by other persons.

To quickly register a designation and obtain a certificate, take advantage of the help of our specialists. We will support the application at all stages of registration, which will allow you to get trademark protection. To find out the details of cooperation and prices for services, please contact us by phone or ask questions through the feedback form on the website.