In today’s business world, spend various resources to build an effective trademark regime both to protect their brand name as well as winning a competitive edge over its competitors.
Trademark basically specifies the source of the product or service to a customer. This is the primary role of the trademark as the customer’s trust in the brand is beneficial for you as it plays a vital role in today’s business world. Trademark is a tool by which the manufacturer of the goods garner the attention of the customers towards their goods when there are hundreds of similar products out there in the market to choose from. For example, a manufacturer is manufacturing a special type of body wash or shampoo, which is lying in the supermarket with dozens of other brands of body wash and shampoo. Thought the customers choose the product on the basis of lucrative price and packaging but the vital role is played by the brand name as it ensures the quality of the product.
For the growth, development and expansion of business, particularly start-ups need to protect the brand name or logo. The trademark not only assists in asset protection, exploitation of the brand for the advantage of the owner, avoiding trademark infringement but also in winning a competitive edge over the rivals in the market.
BRAND VALUE
Brand building is guided brand-strategy wherein registration of the trademark plays the main role. Having a registered trademark makes the brand known and appreciated worldwide. Brand value is an asset for the business which they exploit for capturing the market share. This brand value also helps in entering the foreign market and facing competition in the unknown market place.
It is always better to choose the words which do not exist in the dictionary as these are meaningless words which are coined for the product of the particular manufacturer and chances of it being used by anyone else in the industry is remote. For example, SONY for cameras and ESSO for petroleum. As the meaning for these words were not known to the public when the associated products were launched so they could easily associate it with a tagline to elaborate about their product, as it is the tagline which informs the buyer about the product. Moreover, these invented words are quite different and easy to register, lowers the cost of registration as there are not many objections to be clarified and it becomes easy to take action against the infringers.
IDENTITY OF PRODUCTS
Having a trademark on the product makes it distinguishable and identifiable to the customers. Having a distinctive trademark helps you stand out from the competition. It gives you a brand identity which is unique and memorable and at the same time expresses all the features and characteristics of the product. When the goods bear a trademark of a brand they trust, it becomes easy for them to choose the product from the variety available in the market.
In an ideal situation, the manufacturer or the service provider should choose those trademarks which are distinctive, easy to remember and pronounce. For example, Bisleri for mineral water.
Some manufacturers prefer descriptive marks over the non-descriptive as they think it is good for marketing the product, but at times it becomes difficult to register it as the other competitors in the market may be using a similar mark, thus attracting your customers to their product leading to loss of customer base.
COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS
By having a trademark affixed on your product, you can benefit in the competitive business world in two ways. As now you can protect your product from being counterfeited and fake copies being created. Has this happened your customers will lose trust in the brand and you will lose your customers to your rivals?
In fact, trademarks are not only used on manufactured goods but also on natural produce. For example, fruits, vegetables, meat and other such products. This enables the customers to demand the particular brand of the product such as SUNKIST oranges or WASHINGTON apples. The best thing about the established trademark is the assurance it provides to the customers about the consistency in the quality of the product, every time they purchase the product at different times and from any outlet.
But to maintain this trust, manufacturers are duty-bound to maintain the quality of products at all times which will make the customers buy your products repetitively and this will lead to an increase in the customer base.
ADVERTISEMENT AND REPETITIVE USE
When a registered trademark is used on packaging and labelling of the product for advertisement and it is repetitively used by the manufacturer, it becomes known and common in the market place. The consumers become aware of your product, this is why advertising is considered beneficial for both the brand owner as well as the consumer. Publicity of the brand in the market will be a competitive advantage.
CONCLUSION
Not only trademarks but all the other intellectual property rights provide some sort of competitive advantage. However, the manufacturers should ensure to smartly use their trademark for a competitive advantage over their competitors in the market.
