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As a utilities or environmental brand, you know that the main things that set you apart from competitors offering the same services are price and branding. It can be frustrating when other companies copy your unique brand and advertising, diluting your value and appeal to the consumer. Understanding the methods for protecting your intellectual property is the first step to ensuring that your utilities or environmental brand remains unique. This article outlines strategies to protect intellectual property and secure success for your utilities or environmental brand.
Trade Marks
A trade mark is a form of intellectual property right that gives you brand ownership:
- as a utility provider, you know you provide a product similar to your competition. Often, the only way that a consumer can differentiate one utility provider from another is by their unique branding. Your trade mark will ensure that nobody else can use your branding to market their utilities or energy brand; and
- as the owner of an environmentally conscious company, you understand that higher costs are balanced by the knowledge that you offer ecologically sustainable quality services. A trade mark will ensure less environmentally conscious competitors cannot profit from consumers’ goodwill towards your sustainable practices.
Benefits of Trade Mark Protection
Benefits of trade mark protection include:
- excluding competitors from using your particular branding on their products. This means that when customers see your logo or hear your slogan, they know they are buying your products or services; and
- exclusivity allows you to protect your reputation as a quality business by preventing competitors from taking advantage of your good name.
Trade Mark Registration
To successfully apply for a trade mark, you must show that your mark is distinguishable from the marks of other businesses. To make your mark distinct enough for identification, you must ensure it stands out from others. A unique trademark will have a higher chance of acceptance and registration.
If your application is successful, you will own the trade mark for your brand and enjoy all of the benefits of owning that trade mark.
Trade Mark Protection
Once you successfully register your trade mark, it will be protected for 10 years. However, you can preserve your trade mark by continuing to use it in branding and keeping it unique and distinct from other brands. Where others attempt to use similar marketing materials to yours, ensure you pursue appropriate legal action. Whenever you want to change your logo or slogan, ensure that you apply for a new trade mark and that you do not change it to something too generic.
Copyright
Because marketing is vital to your utilities or environmental brand, it is crucial to protect your advertisements. Copyright can give you ownership of your business’ advertisements. Copyright protects a creative work, such as a video or printed advertisement, from being copied or replicated by others. Ensuring competitors can’t copy your advertisements means you can feel safe spending money on quality advertising.
Benefits of Copyright
Benefits of copyright include:
- you have the exclusive right to use your copyrighted advertisements for economic gain. Exclusive use of your advertisements means that consumers associate your ads and their content with your brand;
- you have the exclusive right to change and adapt your copyrighted material, preventing others from using altered versions of your advertisements; and
- you do not need to register copyright. Your advertisements will automatically be protected by copyright in Australia.
Copyright Protection Requirements
To have copyright protection, a creative work must be original. This does not mean it must come from an original idea; it just means that it must be creative and not be a copy.
Copyright Ownership
The author of a creative work is the owner of its copyright. If you are the creator of your advertisement, you are its author and own the copyright. If you have contracted another to create your advertisement, you may have to negotiate a contract with the creator that gives you copyright rights.
Continue reading this article below the formPatents
Due to utility companies providing similar services, branding is a major asset in separating your company from the competition. However, it may be worth investigating your other options for intellectual property protection. Patents give you the exclusive right to commercially exploit your inventions for 20 years. You may apply for a patent for:
- a new and inventive way of manufacturing the hardware you use to deliver utilities or environmental services; and
- a new and inventive process that you use when delivering your services.
Getting a Patent
You can profit from owning a patent for your new and inventive way of manufacturing or delivering services. You cannot use the methods and processes created by competitors. However, you will receive rewards for your creativity and innovation.
Registration Requirements
You can only patent a method or process that is novel, inventive, useful and not obvious. To apply for a patent for your invention, you must:
- ensure that you are patenting something new – check patent databases to see if anyone else has created something identical to your invention;
- prepare documentation listing you as the patent owner and including your or your agent’s contact information in Australia and New Zealand;
- prepare a specification document. this document will describe your invention in detail;
- apply for your patent with IP Australia; and
- request an examination of your application.
Your business’ brand represents your values, identity and reputation. Learn how to create a successful brand and protect it.
Key Takeaways
Brand differentiation is essential when standing out in the utilities and environmental industries. To protect your marketing material from losing its uniqueness, you should:
- trade mark your branding to prevent others from using it;
- copyright your advertising to prevent others from copying it; and
- seek patent protection for any new ways of providing the services that you create.
If you need help protecting your intellectual property, our experienced intellectual property lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
A trade mark protects your logos and slogans, stopping competitors from using similar branding. This keeps your brand unique and maintains consumer trust.
Ensure your invention is new and valuable, prepare detailed documentation, and apply through IP Australia. Request an examination to confirm its eligibility.
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