Why is it necessary to register your brand?

Brands are one of the most direct links to products, services, and even people and corporate spirit. They provide us with positioning and differentiation from competitors, as well as visibility and positioning in the market. Brands are therefore one of the most important and valued intangible assets in any company.

With their registration, you acquire the exclusive right of use vis-à-vis third parties, preventing them from competing either directly or indirectly using your distinctive signs.

Here are five reasons not to waste any more time before registering your brand!

– Once you register your brand, no one else will be able to use it to distinguish the same type of product or service.

– In the event of a conflict between registered brands, the brand that requested it first has priority.

– Your brand will be protected exclusively for ten years, renewable in the territory where you register it.

– You can register variations or change its design as many times as you wish, and register these changes with a priority right that facilitates new registrations.

– Being the owner of your brand allows you to license its use to a third party in exchange for economic value. There is no doubt that the proper protection and registration of a trademark is a determining factor for companies in the development of a strategic marketing and business plan. Companies such as Corona, Magnum, AXE, and Dunkin’ Donuts were forced to redesign their launch strategies and rename their products in some cases, to avoid unwanted conflicts with a third party.

Here are some examples:

The famous Mexican beer Corona, known as Coronita in Spain, had to modify its name because the Torres family winery owned the rights to the name Corona in Spain. As a result, Corona opted for a variant of the name for its Spanish brand: Coronita.

Another Mexican company, Grupo Bimbo, had to reconsider its name just like Corona when trying to register Grupo Bimbo with EUIPO (the Intellectual Property Office of the European Union). EUIPO did not allow registration of the brand.

RENOWNED*; Reason enough to consider the existence of a risk of future exploitation of notoriety.

The deodorant company AXE, known worldwide both for its products and its advertising campaigns, had to change its brand name to LYNX in English-speaking countries due to the association of the word AXE with the weapon. The word Axe was seen as too aggressive. Another issue was that AXE had already been trademarked by another company.

With regards to Dunkin Coffee (as the brand is known in Spain), it had to abandon the word ‘Donuts’ in the original name, because a company called Panrico owns the rights to use the term Donuts in Spain; no other competing company can use the word.

The well-known ice cream brand Magnum had to opt for the brand Magic in Greece. Magnum’s direct competitor, Nestlé, had already registered a trademarked for Magnum in Greece. Forever 21 was denied a trademark in Colombia on the grounds that it could be confused with the name Forever, owned by Via Scala S.A.S. In the end, they reached an economic agreement for the use of the rights to the brand.

This has been a quick look at the importance of registering your trademark in order to boost your business.

Don’t miss the opportunity to register your trademark before others do it for you!