Whether you’re planning to expand your company into a new market, or simply want to protect your brand overseas, you’ll want to start registering your company’s marks as soon as possible.

However, the process of registering a trademark does not come without its challenges for starters, each country has its own rules and procedures for registering trademarks. You’ll also need to go through a lengthy application process and have an office or representative in the country where you plan to use the trademark.

 

How to Register a Trademark

The first step in registering international trademarks is to conduct a search to see if the trademark is available if it’s not, you can apply for it in your country and use it there.

If the trademark is available, then you can file an application for registration with the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Next, you need to submit a formal application to the WIPO office in the country where you want to register your company’s mark the WIPO will then publish your request for the opposition in their journal and review all applications.

You’ll also need to submit copies of your company’s business license and articles of incorporation to verify that your company exists in that country.

Once the process is complete, you’ll receive a certificate of registration from the WIPO which will allow you to use that mark in that region.

 

Trademark Law Basics

A trademark is an identifier of your company’s goods or services it provides consumers with a way to easily identify the source of a product by using the trademark.

For example, let’s say you owned a business called Cupcakes if someone saw the word Cupcake on your website, they would know that it was referring to your company and not someone else’s.

Trademarks come in two types:

Registered trademarks: these are used to protect products and services from being copied by competitors and have legal protection over them.

Unregistered trademarks: these are also known as common law trademarks and only offer protection within the borders of the country where they were filed.

 

Steps to Register a Trademark

Registering a trademark is not as simple as filling out a couple of forms and sending in your payment. The first step is to conduct a search to verify that the trademark you want to register is available.

Next, you’ll need to draft the necessary paperwork and have it translated into the country’s language if necessary you should also choose a name for your trademark.

Lastly, you’ll need to file your application with the designated authorities and wait for the approval if it turns out that someone else has already registered the trademark in that particular country, then you might be required to do some additional research before moving forward with registering your trademark.

 

Final Words: Is Registering Your Trademark Worth It?

Registering your trademark is definitely worth it, it may be a tedious process, but the benefits are many registering your trademark can help you avoid infringing on someone else’s trademark rights, for example.

And since you’ll be doing business in another country and possibly selling products from that country to others, registering your trademark will make sure that no one else can use it to do business with or sell products in that market.