Building a strong brand isn’t just about developing sales and marketing. It’s also long-term work to ensure that others can’t unlawfully exploit the results of your branding efforts or dilute your brand’s value. Trademark and design registrations provide protection, but they aren’t sufficient on their own. Defending your rights also requires active monitoring and response.
Without active measures by the trademark owner, new trademarks can often be registered even when a similar or even identical mark is already on the register. Registration authorities do not always examine or take prior registrations into account at the application stage.
If a new trademark application creates a likelihood of confusion with an earlier mark, the owner can file an opposition to the application. However, this is only possible within a limited opposition period after publication. The earlier you learn about the application, the better your chances of addressing the issue in time. It’s often easier to reach an amicable solution with the applicant before the mark is put into use. If the infringing mark has already been registered, you can seek to have it invalidated — but that process is more burdensome than responding at the application stage.
To react promptly to trademark applications similar to earlier marks, trademark monitoring services can be used. They track new filings and identify those that may infringe earlier rights. Monitoring is an important part of a trademark strategy. Without it, there’s a risk that confusingly similar marks go unnoticed or only come to light once damage has already occurred.
Even after you’ve invested in building your brand and registered your trademarks, the job isn’t done. Only active monitoring ensures your brand isn’t infringed — in the marketplace or online. Trademark and domain monitoring services help you identify risks early, so you can act before your brand’s value is put at risk.
You can now try our trademark monitoring services free of charge and without risk. Read more about our campaign and get in touch!