Trademark and Copyright for Entrepreneurs and How to Take Advantage of the “First-to-File”

trademark and copyright for entrepreneurs and how to take advantage of the first to file

Trademark and Copyright for Entrepreneurs

Advantage of the “First-to-File”

Entrepreneurs should get their Intellectual Property rights as soon as it is used in commerce. This means that as you start selling your product or services in the market it is better to get it protected before others will. “First-to-file” has great relevance for IP rights registration. For example, if two identical/similar applications, only the first application will be given importance and will be prioritized by the Registrar. Early registration may enhance the value of your work and your product/services. It can secure the uniqueness of your creation and Lastly, it can give a big impact on your business in the future.

Trademark and Copyright

Deciding when to file your trademark is an important decision that depends on many factors. It is wise to start the trademark application as soon as you can after the corporation or LLC is formed. Filing your trademark early, it ensures that you are not putting yourself at significant legal risk by using someone else’s name, in addition to being the most effective way to protect your own brand and name. A good trademark helps you create a popular brand that is exceptional from the competition.

Yet many small business owners don’t even care about label security until they are in business for months or even years. With that being said, it is better to file your trademark as early as possible to avoid others from registering the same trademark as yours.

Also Read: Trademark Classes Summary, Description and Mainly Used

Trademark Registration is like a first come first serve basis. It cannot be reserve but it can be searched. Conduct Availability Search is to give the details of the existence of any similar brand names/trademark which can be similar to your brand name/trademark or else if there is No brand name/trademark record, similar to yours. If the result of the search has no similarities or is not recorded, it must be better to proceed to file the trademark before the other competitor. We as IP Agents we recommend conducting a search before we proceed to file the trademark because of the following reason.

Also Read: A Trademark vs Business Name: Do You Know the Difference?

The application can be rejected in the examination stage.

It can be opposed by a third party.

It is much better to file your trademark a soon as possible, the Ministry of Economy Trademark office can give you the Priority Claim.

Trademark law

Trademark law is about securing source marks — the most common being a brand name such as Tootsie Roll or a Nike swoosh logo. However, many other items, such as bottle forms, color (pink for insulation), sound, and smell (machine lubricants), among other elements, can be labeled with.

Copyright law

Copyright law protects the way an idea is expressed. Copyright law is typically applied to books, graphics, music, artworks, photographs, computer software, and videos. Copyright law uses the “ordinary observer” test, while trademark law is about the “likelihood of confusion.” Think of copyright law as protecting your assets from someone targeting your work, and create a pretty close copy.

Copyright vs. trademark.  Do I need to choose?

No. There are a few waiting cases laws that contend that a proprietor can as it were select one shape of security, but most attorneys concur that’s not a substantial elucidation. So, in case your cool realistic acts as a source identifier, both trademark, and copyright assurances are accessible.

As a general issue, in any case, your spending plan ought to be centered around trademark assurance since trademarks all the more frequently highly affect the normal organization’s benefit esteem and give some basic serious situations against others. In any case, settling on the decision between looking for trademark or copyright insurance (or both) for your merchandise or benefits and deciding if to petition for enrollments are choices best made cautiously and with full information on the future repercussions.

Copyright Patents Trademark
Protects Unique works: books, articles, songs, photographs, sculptures, choreography, sound recordings, motion pictures, and other works Inventions: processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter as well as improvements to these Any word, phrase, symbol, design that distinguishes the source of the products
Requirements to be Protected Within a measurable medium, a work must be original, imaginative, and fixed Innovation must be modern, useful, and unapparent A mark must be distinctive
Validity of Protection 60 years 20 years 10 years

Protect your brand now, email info@alraqeem.ae for more details of your Intellectual Property.