4 Mistakes to Avoid When Registering a Trade Mark for a Kitchen Goods Wholesaler

Trade marks include markings or signs that may be visually depicted. They are used to distinguish one brand’s products and services from those of another. When a company wishes to establish a new business or expand an existing one, it should first register the brand under which it will be operating as a trade mark. For trade mark registration, the organisation should first consider particular aspects to ensure that the mark for which they are asking for registration will not be denied or have an adverse impact on the quality of the brand they are attempting to promote. There are five typical errors to avoid when choosing a trade mark and utilising it in commerce. This article will explore some of the key considerations to think about if you are looking to register a trade mark as a kitchen goods wholesaler. 

1. Failure to Perform a Preliminary Investigation 

As a kitchen goods wholesaler, you should do a preliminary trade mark search with IP Australia before adopting a trade mark or a company name. If your business intends to grow internationally, you should conduct a main search in the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Database, as well as a Google search. Trade mark searches are important because if a you adopt a trade mark that is already in use by another organisation, you may find yourself having to defend yourself in a trade mark litigation battle. This circumstance may force you to refrain from utilising that specific mark. ultimately, this results in the loss of whatever goodwill the brand may have built up.

2. Registering an Excessive Number of Trade Mark Classes

In some cases, an individual or a corporation may attempt to market their potential trade mark excessively. In this scenario, they register the trade mark in a number of distinct classes according to the trade mark classifications. However, they do this only to prevent other competitors from utilising that exact trade mark. Further, they have no intention of using it or doing business in those particular classes. The courts have set rigorous guidelines when it comes to businesses attempting to commit such crimes. Therefore, you should ensure that you only register the trade mark in classes that you intent to use.  

3. Not Checking the Availability of Domain Names

In today’s modern environment, you must ensure that your trade mark is available with the .com extension. If you utilise hyphens in your domain name, your visitors and customers will be sent to another site. Also, you should avoid purposely misspelling popular terms since this can accidentally send your visitors and consumers to another website.

4. Not Engaging a Professional to Assist

Be wary of deceptive economics. Most businesses will only need to register one or two trade marks. These may be renewed for a nominal fee every 10 years. In most situations, hiring a professional adviser to register a trade mark for a 10-year period costs between $1,000 and $3,000. This works out to be less than AUD$300 a year, which is significantly less than most insurance premiums. Many businesses, on the other hand, try to avoid paying professional costs by filing the application themselves. This can lead to a variety of mistakes.

Key Takeaways 

Before deciding whether to register a trade mark for your kitchen goods wholesaling business, you should consider the following:

1. hiring a professional to advise you on the process, so you do not miss something important;
2. locking down your domain name as early as possible;
3. searching online databases to see if your desired trade mark has been registered already; and
4. only registering trade marks in the classes you intend to use.

If you keep the above in mind during your registration process, you will be well placed to protect your kitchen goods wholesaler. If you have any questions about mistakes to avoid when registering a trade mark for your kitchen goods wholesaler, contact LegalVision’s trade mark lawyers on 1300 544 755 or fill out the form on this page.

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