Nonetheless, if these tasks are not carried out in a correct and timely fashion, it may have serious implications for the validity of your trademarks. And the administrative tasks need to be carried out from the very moment you decide to apply for a trademark registration.
What is trademark management?
When you apply for registration of a trademark, it is crucial that the information registered with the authorities is correct, including all documents containing formal information (signatures, language, information on owner and representative), the goods and services which the mark is to protect, translations and so on.
After you have completed a preliminary investigation of existing rights and have filed your application (which also contains some mandatory information), the authorities will assess whether your trademark has the distinctive character required to obtain protection. From the date you filed your application, you have six months to apply for protection in other countries with the same starting date as your first application. A trademark registration will grant you protection in all the countries you have applied for from the moment you file the application.
A trademark is valid for ten years from the date of application. When the period expires, you may renew the trademark for subsequent periods of ten years. In principle, your trademark need never expire, as opposed to patents and designs, as long as you continue to pay the mandatory renewal fee every ten years. If you have several trademarks in several countries, managing and monitoring them will quickly become quite an onerous task. Add to that the fact that a trademark registration will not in itself protect you against counterfeits. You are responsible for enforcing your rights against any infringers. Supported by our trademark monitoring service, you will be kept informed if your competitors introduce goods or services infringing your rights.
How can we help you?
We handle the full range of administrative tasks related to your trademark portfolio, saving you both time and worry. Our service is your guarantee that all deadlines will be met and that, through our EXTRANET tool, all documents are available to you.
Trademark management is a widespread challenge for many companies. However, it is actually one of the areas in which digitisation and legal tech have brought about major changes.
Our IP Highlighter digital tool offers a quick and easy overview of all rights in your IP portfolio. It also provides an easy way of calculating and getting an overview of future costs, e.g. renewal costs, and is thus a very helpful tool when preparing your budget. Access to the tool is free of charge for our clients. Click here to learn more.
