Trademarks: Protecting Your Startup's Identity

A startup's intellectual property is its most valuable asset. It gives them a competitive edge in the market, distinguishing the startup’s products/services and enabling them to generate revenue from their creation cum product offering. With the understanding of how important the IP of a startup is, it makes sense to ensure that it is protected adequately.

Intellectual property protections span a few areas. From copyright to trademarks, patents, industrial designs, and trade secrets. Today’s article borders on utilising trademarks to protect a startup's identity.

Creating a unique brand identity is crucial for a startup’s success. The brand identity transcends just the name or logo; rather attached to it is its goodwill, which connects the brand to its customers and spurs them to patronise, or spread the “good news” of the startup’s product offerings. Trademarks help to protect the startup’s identity, and as such remain a vital consideration in the building.

?

Understanding of Trademarks

Trademarks are distinctive markers that identify a product. They serve as a connector between a product and its customer base. In trademark parlance, this is called “goodwill.” For example, when Barbie started publicity for the Barbie movie, the billboards promoting the movie were just the colour Pink. The way people could immediately identify that the pink billboards were for the Barbie movie, indicated the goodwill that the brand had built. That goodwill, that identity, is protected by Trademark.?

A trademark is a logo, symbol, word, catchphrase, or design that can be used to identify and distinguish a particular product, goods, or service. It signals to customers the consistency and excellence, or failure, associated with that product.

?

Why Is Trademark Protection Important for Startups

1.? Brand Recognition: Trademarks serve as the startup’s unique identifier, which ensures that customers and prospective customers recognise a startup’s product. Aside from recognition, they show consistency in the quality of the startup’s offerings and that customers can always rely on the products from said startup.

2.? Protection From Unauthorized Use: The last thing your startup wants is a competitor or bad faith actor replicating your product and piggybacking off the goodwill you have built, to sell their products to the market. A good example is the “Amoy” Soy Sauce saga on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), where customers found that they bought false versions of the sauce because the branding looked the same. Trademarks provide legal recourse for your startup against unauthorised use or infringement. It grants your startup exclusive rights to use your startup logo, phrases, or other unique identifiers for your brand.?

3.? Maintains Competitiveness in the Market: A startup can maintain a competitive edge when it obtains the requisite trademark protections. This allows the startup to build a distinctive brand identity, undeterred by infringement from competitors or bad faith actors, which further helps the startup consolidate its place in the industry and among customers.?

4.? Asset Value: Global corporations have set the tone for how significant and valuable trademarks can become. Investing in an effective trademark strategy would be rewarded with goodwill from the public. This goodwill is proven to have the potential of becoming a company’s most valuable asset. For example, the practical worth of Google’s trademark is roughly 27% of the company’s entire value. This is an indication of how valuable this intangible asset can become and its place in driving success for your startup.?

5.? Opens the Door to Global Expansion: Trademark rights are territorial. This means that you ought to have trademark protection for your business in every country you seek to carry out business in, or potentially expand into. Effectively registered and valuable trademarks open up the Startup to not just expand globally but also become an attractive opportunity for global investments.?

Steps To Protect Your Startup’s Identity

The trademark registration process in Nigeria involves:?

1. Comprehensive Search: It is essential to search for the proposed mark before submitting an application. This is to ensure that your proposed mark does not infringe upon an existing trademark, or is similar to an existing trademark, enough to cause a confusion for prospective customers, and importantly to ensure that the mark is registrable.
2. Select suitable class: Trademarks in Nigeria are registered under the NICE classification. It is an international system used all around the world to classify and register trademarks of goods and services. There are 45? classes of trademark registration, and your trademark protection is limited to the class under which you are registered. So, it is advisable you register under the class which is applicable to your product, and under classes you intend to potentially expand into. It is the duty of your lawyer, or IP consultant to help you identify the class or classes applicable to the intended trademark.?
3. Application to the Registry: This application is made after the search has been conducted and the mark is ‘okay’ to proceed with. The application is made to the Trademarks, Patents and Designs Registry.?
4. Review by the Registry: The registry will review the application made to ensure it does not infringe on existing trademarks, and that the application complies with relevant laws.
5. Publication and Issuance of Certificate: Once the Registry clears the Trademark and accepts the application, it will be published in the Trademarks Journal for interested persons to make oppositions to the registration, where necessary. Where there are no oppositions, or the opposition was settled in favour of the applicant, the Registry will issue the applicant a certificate of registration.

The time frame for trademark registration in Nigeria usually spans 12-24 months. However, the registration process does not preclude persons from using their marks, or bringing an action for infringement, of said mark.

In Conclusion,?

Trademarks are strategic investments for brands, because they have the potential to last in perpetuity if properly managed, and could become the company’s most valuable asset. While owning the trademark in relation to your product is essential in defining the success of your product's journey, it is not enough to just register a mark. You need to work with an experienced Intellectual property lawyer, or consultant in ensuring that you have a defined trademark strategy that aligns with your business’s goal and objectives.?

Speak to a Lawyer. Your startup's trademark is too important to be left to chance and without the protections afforded under the law.?

I'm rooting for you to build big things!

Yours in Tech Solidarity,

Victoria.