What makes a trademark good?

You intend to start a business, protect it and see it grow and nurture. You want to create a brand name in the market through a name or a logo by which you are recognised and remembered. A trademark is essentially that. It helps you be recognised in the market, gives a source of origin to your products/services and ensures that you are recognised through it. A Pepsi logo is so significant to the brand that, just the colours blue, white and red on any beverage, relates its source to Pepsi and assures the user that the Company Name “Pepsi” is involved.

Considering the fact that trust is the biggest factor as far as product manufacturing and services are concerned, establishing a brand name and ensuring that you are recognised through it is essential. The emergence of a company with a similar brand name in the similar class of goods/services might lead to confusion for the same customers and confuse them as to the origin of such products.

It is important to have a good trademark for your brand, for which it is important to understand what a “good” trademark is! There are many things which make a good trademark. The semblance of many, or all of these can and will make your mark stand out from that of your competitors. In order to have a good Trademark, it must fulfil the following requisites--

1. Your mark should be distinctive and unique.

2. Your mark should not suggest in any manner, the intended function, purpose, nature or quality of the commodity it pertains to, nor should it be suggestive or descriptive of its end use.

3. To illustrate this, consider if a person wants to get a mark titled “Sweet Sugar”, pertaining to sugar as the main commodity intended to be sold under this mark. It will be a mark considered to be bad in law as it is suggestive of the quality of the commodity and not the commodity itself.

Furthermore, your mark should be easy to pronounce and should be unique enough so it can be recognised and remembered amongst the rest. It should not be identical to other earlier marks which pertain to the same goods and services. Also, the mark which you intend to get registered must not be contrary to law or morality or religious susceptibilities, indecent, derogatory or insulting. It should not be deceptive or misdescriptive in its meaning or understanding.

Once you do construct a good mark and get the trademark registered, your registered mark will be protected for a period of ten years, along with additional ten years upon payment of fees subsequently.