When Oscar Wilde coined the phrase that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’, he clearly wasn’t thinking about the highly competitive world of business! A strong brand identity is a powerful marketing and brand-building tool and registering it as a trade mark provides the business with exclusive rights and protects their valuable intellectual property.   […]

Advertising slogans are everywhere.  They’re on our television screens and on the radio.  They’re on stadiums, buses, billboards and buildings and on our social media feeds.  They’re on products and packaging.  They’re emblazoned on clothing and they pop up on emails and letterheads.  They’re in our faces and if they’re catchy, they’re on our minds. […]

Many people assume that a business name and a trade mark are one and the same.  In fact, there are significant differences between the two. In order to answer the question of whether you can register an existing business name as a trade mark, it’s important to understand those differences and understand what steps you […]

A trade mark search should be one of the very first things you do when you are considering starting a new company or launching a new product or service.   In doing so, you won’t waste precious resources developing a name that will ultimately end up in the rubbish basket because you discover it is too […]

There’s no legal requirement to use the registered trade mark symbol next to your trade mark in the course of trade. However, if your trade mark is registered using the registered symbol – ®- can be a helpful way to signal to the public and also to your competitors that your trade mark is protected […]