Trademarks
Company Trademarks
Should Company Trademarks Be Used?
People often confuse the need to register a company name with the need to register company trademarks.
It should be noted that for a business to operate, it will have a name, but will not necessary use the name when communicating products or services to customers. In such an instance it would not be wise to trademark the company name as the name should bear an association with a product or service.
Another confusion that exists regarding company trademarks is that of always associating such with a logo. Although a logo is essential in branding, it may or may not be used in the promotion of specific products or services and as such will bear no connection with such.
The idea of a trademark is to distinguish the products and services offered by the applicant in a unique way from the products and services offered by the competitors. As such company trademarks must thus be associated with products and services.
Nike for instance, is a company name associated with sport shoes. Yahoo for instance is well connected with a search engine service and thus a perfect candidate for trademark registration.
To determine whether a company name should be trademarked, one should look at considerations such as whether it is used to communicate a product or service to the client. The trademark should then be used for the particular classes registered for only.
The company name should be distinct and thus not cause any confusion with the public. It should bear an immediate connection with a particular product or service. It may be better in some instances to rather register separate marks for various products rather than applying the company name to every product in the stable.
Contact us at Smit & Van Wyk for legal advice regarding company trademarks.
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