To make themselves known, to be recognized and to communicate, companies have a name, a logo and sometimes a slogan. Whether its name or logo, it is imperative to protect yourself. Indeed, even if this is your identity, it can be usurped! In addition, it is important to protect your brand. It encompasses products, services and even ideas. How to proceed ? Here are some answers.
Protecting your brand and logo is essential. Indeed, each invention can be exploited, developed and above all be a success. Every quality creation deserves to be protected. Besides, the steps must be immediate!
Here's everything a business needs to protect:
The main risk when you do not protect your brand or logo is counterfeiting. It is not uncommon for people to use a product, service or idea to launch a similar production at a reduced price. This process leads to unfair competition.
A logo is an essential and above all unique element. It represents the company and allows it to be recognized. The logo is a communication tool that can be found on all media, namely emails, letters, the website, the merchant site, advertising media and even social networks.
The first thing to do to protect your logo is to get information on the Internet. Unfortunately, the only options available to you are the acquisition of a copyright that would be valid everywhere in the world, or a TM or R notice. Be aware that these notices have no legal value.
The optimal solution is to make a deposit with the INPI, the National Institute of Industrial Property. This public institution protects you and asserts your industrial property rights. For the logo, the deposit is made in 2 ways. You can either register designs and models with the INPI, or register a trademark, also with the INPI. This second solution is more interesting because it allows you to distinguish your products and your services from those of your competitors.
A trademark is defined by law (L.711-1 of the Intellectual Property Code) as a "sign capable of graphic representation serving to distinguish the products or services of a natural or legal person". It can consist of letters, numbers, words, names, slogans, logos and even colors.
To exist, a brand must meet the following criteria:
To protect a trademark, it is once again necessary to make a deposit with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). Here are the steps to follow. The first step is to do research to ensure that the information to be protected is available. To do this, you must consult the INPI database. Of course, some specialists can do the research for you, but you have to pay for this service.
Once the research has been carried out, you must complete the INPI trademark registration form. This is accessible on the website www.inpi.fr. This form includes all key information such as the brand as well as product and service lines. These services must belong to one of the 45 classes proposed in the Nice classification. Of course, it is possible to choose several classes. This approach is even recommended if you then wish to develop your products and services.
On the price side, the cost of a trademark registration with the INPI is €190. If you add product and service classes, a budget of €40 per class is required.
If your company is destined to evolve on a European or international scale, it is preferable to protect your brand and your logo. To do this, two solutions are available to you.
If you notice that your trademark has been used without your knowledge, you can contact the organization or organizations protecting you to assert your rights. The procedure to follow is as follows. You must file a complaint with the Gendarmerie services. Thanks to it, and with the authorization of a judge, you will be able to obtain a seizure of the counterfeits. The following events take place in court. The damages are estimated and the offender is punished.
