Webinar Transcript
Rahul Rana – Hello! This is Rahul Rana, Senior Executive, Business Development at TMReady. I am signing in from India to welcome you all to our webinar today. The topic of our webinar is ‘10 Used Cases of Trademark Search Price and Watch That Trademark Practitioner Should Advice Their Clients.
I will go on to introduce the topic and the esteemed speakers on our session today. I’m delighted to welcome all the participants from different countries around the globe. Your participation is a wonderful encouragement of the efforts and attempt that we are making to raise awareness and spread knowledge. TMReady owns this knowledge via working with Inventors, R&D organizations, IP Departments, and IP Law Practices throughout these years.
Hence, our first speaker of the session is Gopal Singh Rawat. He leads the trademark team at TMReady. Moreover, he is a trademark search expert and an accomplished trademark searcher with 10 plus years of searching experience. Welcome to the webinar, Gopal.
Gopal Singh Rawat – Thank you, Rahul! Thank you for having me on the webinar.
Rahul Rana – Thank you, Gopal! The other speaker is Melvyn Thomas. He is the Head, Online Sales Channel at TMReady. Melvyn has 11 plus years of experience in managing the sales process and providing a high level of customer service and retention. Welcome to the webinar, Melvyn!
Melvyn Thomas – Thank you, Rahul. It’s a pleasure being here and being a part of this webinar.
Related Article: Trademark Search India—Things You Need to Know
Agenda
Rahul Rana – We will start off with the presentation today. However, I’ll ask our speakers for their initial remarks on today’s webinar topic i.e., “10 Used Cases of Trademark Search Price/Cost and Watch That Trademark Practitioners Should Advice Their Clients”.
Gopal Singh Rawat – This webinar talks about the 10 real used cases of trademark search price and watch. We provide optimum trademark search price and trademark watch services on the basis of these 10 used cases for our clients. In these 10 real scenarios, we also recommend trademark search and watch to our clients. Thank you.
Melvyn Thomas – The context of this webinar revolves around serving professional trademark search price for the trademarks of the brand names of business owners. For this, we are utilizing the cases where trademark attorneys consult their clients to provide them effective trademark search price with quality operations.
You can conduct a trademark search at a fixed price and analyse the different perspectives considering the objective that a business owner wants to meet. Moreover, this process is not only for receiving clearance or registrability opinion of a mark. There are also certain other reasons for which you must conduct trademark search at a significant price in different ways.
Moreover, this webinar also sheds light on the importance of trademark watch to monitor misuse. Further, it also displays the different types of trademark search price under use for obtaining the trademark search reports. These include knockout searches, full searches, manual searches, and artificial intelligence trademark searches. Thus, this is a complete overview of what we plan to cover in this webinar.
Also Read: How to Do a Trademark Image Search in the USPTO Website
Importance of a Trademark
Rahul Rana – Thanks Gopal and Melvyn for setting the context of the webinar. I invite Melvyn to take us through the webinar.
Melvyn Thomas: The importance of trademark is what we’re going to talk about.
US Trademark Search Price/Cost
AI Trademark Search Price/Cost
Manual Trademark Search Price/Cost
Canada Trademark Search Price/Cost
AI Trademark Search Price/Cost
Manual Trademark Search Price/Cost
Europe Trademark Search Price/Cost
AI Trademark Search Price/Cost
Manual Trademark Search Price/Cost
UK Trademark Search Price/Cost
AI Trademark Search Price/Cost
Manual Trademark Search Price/Cost
Australia/New Zealand Trademark Search Price/Cost
AI Trademark Search Price/Cost
Manual Trademark Search Price/Cost
China Trademark Search Price/Cost
Manual Trademark Search Price/Cost
Japan Trademark Search Price/Cost
Manual Trademark Search Price/Cost
Korea Trademark Search Price/Cost
Manual Trademark Search Price/Cost
Custom Trademark Search Price/Cost
Multi-Country / Global Trademark Search Price/Cost
Comprehensive Global Trademark Search Price/Cost
Is a Trademark Search Really Needed?
Trademarks provide protection for both businesses as well as consumers. It makes them an important part of running a successful company. It aids in protecting their brand impression, values, goods and services, revenue, etc.,. Thus, you must choose the right trademark as per your business values, goods and services. Further, you must also make sure that there is no misuse of your trademark.
Business owners and clients often ask for conducting preliminary trademark searches at worthy price themselves. The answer is yes. However, it’s always a good idea to do undergo a professional search. Moreover, you can provide one or two choices after completing the process of conducting a trademark. Hence, these small investments in your time saves a lot of money in future.
Moreover, you must execute a thorough and a professional trademark search. You must not pay attorneys to file an application to register a trademark if it’s already registered. Thus, you can discover this via conducting a trademark search before. Once you knock out all the easy ones, you get much more value from a professional search later.
There’s more than little art to searching, not to mention the years of experience. Hence, there is no point in feeling bad at missing something a professional might find. Thus, you must always follow the recommendation of conducting a professional search having a suitable trademark search price.
Related Article: The top 6 benefits of trademark filing services
Conduct a Knockout Search
You must execute a trademark knockout search. Further, once you find no conflicting marks in a knockout search, move forward with a full trademark search at an easy price. You can execute this process on the mark that you finally decide to move forward with.
Conduct a Full Trademark Search
A full trademark search helps you look for other phonetically similar sounding marks. Moreover, this helps you in coming up with an accurate legal opinion on the trademark validity.
The Exclusivity of a Trademark
Gopal Singh Rawat – The main benefit of a trademark is registering your brand and enjoying exclusivity. Thus, you are the one in the whole country who can sell products or services with that name. However, it takes a lot of time, resources and money to create and launch a unique and effective brand. Thus, there is no surety that the brand name you choose is actually available for your product name.
Therefore, you can quickly investigate the availability of your brand for your business through trademark search. This can take place anywhere in the world. Hence, that’s the main reason why we conduct a trademark search.
Also Read: How to Trademark A Logo?
Is Trademark Watch Equally Important as Trademark Search?
You can conduct a trademark search usually before filing a trademark to the Patent and Trademark Office. This ensures that there are no conflicting marks an examiner can bring up once you file the trademark application. That’s the prime purpose of conducting a trademark search.
On the other hand, you can conduct trademark watch after you get a grant on your trademark application. Thus, it is equally important to execute trademark watch after the application approval because of certain reasons. Below is a list of few reasons that make a trademark watch important for your brand.
Trademark Watch Process helps in protecting the marks from the potential infringements. It is basically a process of monitoring the trademark and looking out for all the similar registered marks. It enables a firm to initiate an action against the infringement. Moreover, trademark watches make sure that there is no potentially harmful mark that goes for registration. Potential marks can impact your brand value, your brand’s revenue and other important areas.
It is advisable not to forget about your mark monitoring once you have a trademark. Use your right to take action against any offenders trying to misuse your IP rights.
Rahul Rana – Thank you Melvyn, for your ideas about the trademark search price and trademark monitoring services and their importance.
Related Article: The Importance of Trademark Name Search
Trademark Monitoring is Important – Know How?
Thus, the trademark search is pre-filing, and trademark monitoring is post-approval. Both the aspects are really important. You know what you’re filing for and you are sure about the options which are available. You understand if you can file the trademark that you are going for. If not, then you save your money and your time from going back and forth to the trademark office. Once you receive the approval and your trademark, you must keep an eye on your competition – anyone copying your trademark.
Thanks Melvyn for the whole comprehensive overview of the trademark search and monitoring service. Now, let me go over to Gopal and ask him to take us through the next part. Gopal, would you please take the lead now?
Also Read: Trademark Monitoring: Why Is It Important for Your Brand?
US Trademark Monitoring/Watch Price
Canada Trademark Monitoring/Watch Price
Europe Trademark Monitoring/Watch Price
UK Trademark Monitoring/Watch Price
Australia/New Zealand Trademark Monitoring/Watch Price
Global Trademark Watch / Monitoring Price
Single Jurisdiction Trademark Monitoring/Watch Price
Global Bulk Trademark Monitoring/Watch Price
Standard Cases for Trademark Search Price and Watch Services
TM Search Should Be Advised to Enter in the Market
Gopal Singh Rawat – First: One must advise TM Search to enter in the market before launching a product. This applies to every individual, corporate, small company, and a big law firm. They must decide to enter in the market themselves or plan to launch their new product or services in the market. Further, the attorney must advise a trademark search to know if the name chosen for their business is available in the market.
Otherwise, you tend to surround yourself with a huge loss while launching new products and services in the market. There are various examples where people started their business without conducting proper trademark search. They received legal challenges from the third party present in the market. They claimed that the mark they want to use for their business is infringing their mark. Thus, if they avoid this file a trademark application, they must stop all the activities which can cause them a financial loss. Hence, before entering the market to launch a product, all TM practitioners must advise their clients to execute this process.
Also Read: Latest USPTO Trademark Rules?
TM Search Overcoming Examiner’s Objections in Court
Second: One must advise TM Search for overcoming examiner’s objections in court. While filing a new application, we are unaware about the kind of objections we may face. An objection is one of the initial stages in the registration process. Once you register your case in the IPAB, it will hear the case. It decides the place of the hearing depending upon the jurisdiction.
There is an example of similar trademark in existence. An attorney overcame the examiners on similar trademark in the same class of goods and services. Further, the client ordered a trademark search. Moreover, he asked for the exact sounding marks under the classes of goods and services with different owner and registered trademark status.
Therefore, to overcome the examiner objections, attorneys must advise their clients with trademark search according to the objection they face.
Related Article: Global Trademark Search – A Wise Decision
TM Search in Case of Mergers with Other Firms
Third: One must advise TM Search in case of mergers with other firms. For, the challenges and difficulties for IP professionals are not as simple as ensuring a transfer of associated rights. There is also a question of combined or conflicting brands. From trademark and IP protection side, the reverse is true. Hence, the fusion approach creates myriad potential issues. Moreover, new merging creates multiple conflicting rights. Therefore, there are lots of events taking place at this time. Thus, we must propose high vigilance for each trademark which the merging companies holds.
Moreover, we must execute proper search on all the trademarks and collect information including the following.
- First, the number of trademarks they possess.
- Second, the number of registered trademarks they possess.
- Third, the number of expired trademark and the reason associated.
- Fourth, the number of new trademarks filed – the status.
- Lastly, data including the number of countries, they run their businesses with the registered trademarks.
Thus, we execute the research work on a trademark, properly.
Related Article: Trademark Searches: An Overview
TM Search (Owner Search) Should Be Advised in Portfolio Management
Fourth: One must advise TM Search (Owner Search) in portfolio management. Trademark portfolio management is a timely managed process of trademark which includes all legal procedures. This process includes all activities from trademark registration, maintenance, and giving complete protection in the desired jurisdictions. Thus, impeccable and efficient trademark portfolio management enables a company to keep the business secure and profitable.
However, before you start managing your trademark portfolio, you must have sufficient knowledge about your trademarks.
For that, you must conduct an owner trademark search. This provides you the data for the number of countries you are running your business in. Moreover, it provides you the number of trademarks you own worldwide. Moreover, a trademark report helps you decide the number of trademarks you can include in your trademark portfolio management. Hence, this trademark search provides you a clear picture of your trademark portfolio while saving your time and money.
Also Read: A Quick Guide on Trademark Search TESS
TM Market Search – Research on Specific Goods and Services
Fifth: One must advise TM Search for market research on specific goods, services or classes. Once you decide to capture the market in particular goods and services, you must possess knowledge about the other kinds of products being launched. Thus, you must conduct research on particular goods and services. Moreover, you must explore about the players who are launching their products as well.
You can gather all the information regarding goods and services through trademark search. This helps you in framing plans to launch new products and brand names in the market. Thus, trademark search on specific goods and services helps in identifying the exact market trend. Therefore, an attorney must advise trademark search to a client to research on specific goods and services.
Also Read: How to perform a Worldwide Trademark Search?
TM Search and Watch for Business Expansion
Sixth: The attorneys must advise TM search and watch during business expansion. When a business expands their offering, their focus lies on the testing of products while considering the branding elements. However, it is important to file trademarks for the paid products and services. Other brands may consider your products as a competition. However, a trademark legally protects and verifies that your services are truly unique.
Hence, once you receive the registration for your trademark, you secure your all trademark IP rights. You get the flexibility to move forward with the business expansion from one country to another. Further, this ensures your successful business expansion and reduces your business legal problems. However, once you expand your business globally, you must remain careful and watch your trademarks regularly. This ensures that nobody can infringe your trademark. Hence, this increases the value of your overall trademark.
Related Article: Why Should You Take Trademark Search Services?
TM Watch for Competitor Activities
Seventh: The attorneys must advise conducting a TM Watch on competitor activities. This is a very competitive activity. Hence, we must not ignore this activity anyhow. You must keep your friends close, but your competitors closer. Trademark watch has become an essential part of business marketing activity. It facilitates the formation of qualitative strategic planning.
Watching your competitors helps you identify what you are looking for and helps you in your business growth. It is not about stealing your competitors’ ideas. Further, it is about revealing their strengths and weaknesses and finding the company’s competitive advantages. Thus, the unique brand positioning eventually brings you out of the competition. It not only covers your company and customers’ loyalty but also includes the business success.
Additionally competition watch helps you know a lot about industry trends and competitors’ activity. Moreover, it gives you an idea of what works with your target audience. Competitor watch helps you avoid risk and take right decisions for your business. Further, competitor watch also provides potential information about competitors’ products and services.
Also Read: Trademark Lookup – 7 Reasons Why TMReady Leads the Way
TM Watch to Identify the Market Trend
Eighth: The attorneys must advise TM watch to identify the market trend. Market trend is important to acknowledge that industry is ever-changing. Thus, you need to stay ahead of the curve and avoid competitors overtaking you. You need to be able to move with time for the benefit of long term business planning. Furthermore, to identify the market trend, it is very important to know what is going on in the market. One must perform Market trend analysis as thoroughly as it sounds through trademark watch services.
It gives a comparison of the industry data over a period of time. This analysis helps you recognize consistent trends or results to map your business strategies. Moreover, it helps in aligning those strategies with the direction of your business industry. Hence, this helps you identify the products and services running in the market and the goods and services you must focus at. Therefore, an attorney must always recommend trademark watch on market trend to big and potential clients.
Related Article: Why Trademark Watching Is Important?
TM Watch to identify the Potential Infringements
Ninth: What comes after you file your trademark? Trademark Watch Services. TM watch allows the brands to keep an eye for trademark infringement. This takes place, both globally and within the region you operate. For all businesses, intellectual property is a major asset that increases business value and market potentials. Several entrepreneurs and inventors think that is it sufficient to just obtain the registration certificate of their trademark. However, securing the IP rights of your trademark is only the beginning. If you have rights and you are not enforcing them, it is like not having them at all. Owners must always monitor the third parties for infringing on their rights and take an appropriate action to stop them immediately.
Conducting a trademark watch on a regular basis helps in detecting all potential infringement in an early stage. Further, trademark watch also helps you to identify the unregistered trademarks through common law search. Hence, this is a very important service that the TM practitioners must advise their clients.
Also Read: Avoid Trademark Infringement Easily
TM Watch to Track the Brand in Different Countries
Tenth: Once you stabilize your brand successfully in multiple countries, you must protect your brand. Brand protection is the most crucial part. After stabilizing the brand, you must track it in different countries regularly. If you fail to track your brand, it might lead to multiple problems in duplicity, maintenance, and general or legal issues as well. Therefore, you must begin the trademark watch protocols for your brand name to track real-time status.
This is the only way to protect your brand. This is because successful brand stabilization adds value and strength to your total value of brand. Thus, all the TM attorneys must advise their potential clients to utilize trademark watch services.
Related Article: How is Trademark Licensing Beneficial for Your Brand?
Questions and Answers
Rahul Rana – Thank you Gopal for your detailed explanation. These points emphasized a lot on the importance of trademark search and monitoring services. It reflected how the TM practitioners use these services. Moreover, it displayed the way new brands want to file a trademark and utilize these options to keep an eye on the competition later. This prevents them from replacement by another player in the industry.
How long does it take a Trademark to get a Grant after the Filing Process?
Melvyn Thomas – After filing a trademark application, it takes 8 to 15 month’s timeline for the trademark to receive a grant.
What are the Aspects One must Look For in Trademark Search before Filing?
Gopal Singh Rawat – Before filing, one must always execute a knockout search. If we do not find any exact mark, one must execute a comprehensive trademark search.
What is the duration for which a trademark is valid? Does one have to pay any maintenance fee to the Patent and Trademark office?
Melvyn Thomas – A trademark is valid for 10 years in most of the jurisdictions. There’s a renewal fee every 10 years that has to be updated to the government. There is no other fee that has to be paid in between. However, one must submit a sub-statement of use every five years. This proves that the concerned trademark is in use and is not marked dead.
Rahul Rana – Moreover, there is no intermediate fee. One has to pay the renewal fees after 10 years once. This is the tenure a trademark is valid for. Further, if they want to extend it after 10 years, they must pay that fees. In between, they must notify the office that the trademark was in use and is still alive.
Related Article: Trademark Monitoring – Why And How To Perform?
Can I file a mark in India if has been filed in another Country by someone else?
Gopal Singh Rawat – Yes, you can file the mark in India as well.
Rahul Rana – However, the concerned individual must conduct a search to make sure that the mark is available in India.
How is getting my trademark watched specifically beneficial?
Melvyn Thomas – Trademark watch is indeed an important aspect of monitoring the usage of your trademarks. It is an important to conduct once you win a trademark and put it as a name of your brand. Moreover, it is a precautionary measure that keeps your trademark secured from infringers. People know the centrality of a trademark for a brand. Hence, it is difficult for a brand to survive without a trademark watch in the current market.
It is very important because you will see the offenders popping up here and there. Thus, to make sure that your mark stays competitive in the market, you must make sure that nobody is misusing it. Trademark watch is a way of keeping an eye to maintain the enforceability of your mark. Therefore, one must remain persistent about keeping a watch on your granted trademark.
Rahul Rana – Basically, it’s a way to stay ahead of any competition or any malicious intent. It may include any kind of hindrance or obstacle in the future against your business.
Melvyn Thomas – I’ve seen cases where somebody just does some phonetic changes in the name, and they start using that mark for the promotion of their business. It is quite similar to an already existing mark, which is quite popular. That straight away captures the market. Hence, you must take necessary actions any against these kind of exploitation. Or else, you will be getting your market share slashed down.
What is the basis for a trademark office rejecting a trademark application?
Gopal Singh Rawat – There are multiple laws and grounds in IP law where a TM Examiner can reject trademark application. The most common grounds are likelihood of confusion, absolute grounds and relative grounds. Likelihood of confusion is the first where examiners reject the mark.
Rahul Rana – Moreover, we must make sure that there is no confusion being laid out. The applicant must remain pretty clear about what he is filing. I believe that sums it up.
How Are Trademark Classes Defined?
Trademark classes are defined into two parts. One is goods and another is services. The NICE agreement standardized the NICE classification in 1957. This system classifies the goods and services for the purpose of registering trademarks. There are total 45 classes in which 1 to 34 fall under goods and 35 to 45 fall under services. Since this system is recognized in numerous countries, applying for a trademark internationally is a more streamlined process. The classification system is specified by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
