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If you are building a brand, trademark law enables you to protect your business name, product and logo. Prior to doing anything, you should make contact with a business lawyer who has a wealth of experience setting up trade brands for their clients.
There are four types of trademarks:
Fanciful - A specific name or logo that is original (eg: Kodak and Pepsi).
Arbitrary - A term or name not directly related to the company or their products.
Suggestive - This mark does have a direct connection to the company/product.
Descriptive - If a type of mark can have a secondary meaning in the consumer’s mind, it is called a descriptive mark.
Licensing Intellectual Property Rights
In order to license IP, you need to have a registered trademark. In the event you wish to start a new business in cities such as Bangkok, consult with Thailand BOI lawyers or similar experts in your chosen country, and you can enjoy many incentives. If you register your Intellectual Property, should anyone copy you, you can file a lawsuit and stop any further use. Prior to doing anything, when you register the business, you should seek out a business lawyer for the best advice, and they can also help you with trademark registration.
Registering A Business
This must come before any trademark registration and there are several types of business that you can register in Thailand:
- Representative Office
- Private Limited Company
- International Branch Office
If you are foreign entrepreneur who’s ready to register your business in Thailand, find an English-speaking commercial lawyer, who can advise you accordingly and facilitate the registration process.
Reasons To Register A Trademark
There are several reasons to register a trademark, such as:
- Have exclusive rights to using a trademark.
- You can use the registered trademark symbol.
- Registering a trademark enables you to license your Intellectual Property.
- You can defend your mark.
There are, as you would expect, many different categories (45 Classes in total) and the lawyer can help you to identify the right class for your mark.
Some examples include:
- Class 01 = Chemicals
- Class 04 = Fuels, industrial oils and greases.
- Class 06 = Metal, metal castings, locks, safes and hardware.
- Class 10 = Medical and dental equipment.
When you wish to register a trademark, you will need the services of an experienced trademark lawyer, one who can ensure that the process is carried out according to protocol.
Trademark Office Action
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Once the mark has been registered, the trademark office might get in touch with you and request some additional information. Then you have to wait until your mark is published in the USPTO Official Gazette before you can legally use the mark.
The mark must be renewed between 5th year and the 10th year, and your lawyer can prepare the application for the renewal process.
May the above information help you to gain a deeper understanding of the trademark process, and by approaching an experienced commercial lawyer, you can start the trademark registration process.
