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If you’re planning to be your own boss and run you own business,
you will have to make one of the most important decisions regarding
your enterprise—your brand.
Your brand, which consists of your brand name
and trademark, will carry the quality and reputation of your product
or service. Branding is a strategy for the public to remember the
product and later on transcends to consumer patronage and increased
revenues.
Your brand is part of what is called
“intellectual property assets.” Your intellectual property
assets may be intangible, but they are also a vital element in
profitability.
Effective IP management is key to keep a
business up and running. However, without Intellectual Property
protection, brand names are at risk. Its vulnerability to copying
endangers the creativity and pioneering endeavors of entrepreneurs.
“As it is important to choose distinctive and
eye-catching brand, it is also important to ensure your brand is
protected,” says Michael Untalan, senior partner at Bengzon Negre
Untalan Intellectual Property Attorneys.
“Failure to protect one’s IP could lead to
theft of ideas and diminished revenues, resulting to lesser
competitive edge in the market,” he adds.
Here are some guidelines on how business
proprietors and wannabe entrepreneurs can secure their brands
through IP management and protection.
1. Choose or create a name, symbol or logo that
is distinctive and hard to duplicate. It should have a positive
meaning and not merely describe the product or service offered.
2. Apply for registration of the chosen brand in
the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. Fill up the
forms and provide the requirements such as claims of color,
reproduction and description of the mark, fees and goods or services
covered.
3. Submit the trademark application with the
Bureau of Trademarks (BOT) in the Intellectual Property Office
(IPO). Your application will undergo evaluation and examination.
4. If there are no oppositions for the approval
of the name or mark, the IPO will publish the trademark application
in the IPO Gazette upon payment of fees. The mark or name will now
be the official trademark of the party that registered it.
5. Remember that business name registration with
the Department of Trade and Industry or company registration with
the Securities and Exchange Commission is different from trademark
registration with the BOT. It is through trademark registration that
trademark rights are secured.
For more details, visit the IP Philippines’
website www.ipophil.gov.ph or consult your IP attorneys for
professional guidance.
“The trademark application process might seem
unnecessary and effortful to most new entrepreneurs, but if you are
successful in having your mark approved, you have taken the first
step in ensuring protection and longevity of your brand,” says
Untalan.
If you think that trademark application will
cause you to shell out money unnecessarily, think again. A brand
name is only worth something if it is protected. If you don’t take
advantage of that, others will—at your expense.
It is your asset. Invest in it!
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