I just want a trademark
What’s the easiest way to get a trademark?
Almost every business owner wants to be able to display that registered trademark symbol ® beside their brand name to show that they have the exclusive right to use it. A registered trademark is a powerful deterrent to potential copy-cats.
Not all brand names can be registered as trademarks. It can be particularly difficult to register trademarks that include generic industry terms or descriptive words, for example QUALITY CLOTHING or SHIRTS would never be registrable for clothes.
“But I just want a trademark!” is something we hear from business owners who have adopted descriptive brands. The good news is that, even if your brand isn’t unique and distinctive, you should still be able to get some form of trademark protection. Read on.
What can you do if your brand name is not unique or registrable?
Apply for a logo
If your brand name is descriptive or generic (and not likely to be registrable as a trademark), you should consider applying for a logo version as a trademark. If you don’t have one, then now is a good time to design one - and make sure it’s unique and easily identifiable as your brand so that you can set yourself apart from your competitors. Then apply to register a trademark for the logo.
The best trademarks are fanciful or distinctive. They include words and images or a combination of these which make them unique. Visual elements, such as an image or stylised words, help to make any device distinctive - so logos almost always have a greater chance of being accepted for registration than word marks.
Registering your trademark in logo form won’t give you the same level of protection for the word element of the brand as a word trademark would. (If you have a unique and original word mark, apply to protect it as a word trademark!) But registering your logo as a trademark will show other traders that you are serious about brand protection. By using the registered trademark symbol ® with your logo, you will send a strong signal to the market that you are willing to take steps to protect your rights - and hopefully dissuade competitors from using a confusingly similar brand name.
Add distinctive words
Another way to make your brand more likely to qualify for trademark registration is to add unique or distinctive words.
Simply choose an original combination of words that’s capable of distinguishing your business from other businesses.
For example, SHOOP’S SHIRTS or SHOOP’S QUALITY CLOTHING for clothes would likely be sufficiently distinctive to be registrable as trademarks. For more on this, see our tips for choosing a business name.
