Trademark Registration
Protect Your Business Right Now
You can have the best business location, a beautiful website and put your logo on social media, banners and billboards. But be careful: if you haven’t registered the brand, it’s not yours yet. And worse, it could be registered by someone else at any time and make you lose a lot of money. Don’t worry. It’s possible to prevent this from happening!
What is a brand?
An entrepreneur’s journey involves many tasks to ensure the success of opening a company. One of them is Trademark Registration, a step that many professionals postpone, ignoring how it can protect their business. Regardless of your area of activity, taking care of your brand is a fundamental step to ensure greater impact on consumers and better results at the end of the month.
Technically, a brand is “a visually perceptible sign that generates differentiation of products and services in the market”, it is what distinguishes you from the competition and makes your product or service something unique.
The purpose of Trademark Registration is precisely to protect it against fraud and plagiarism, strengthening the company, facilitating communication and, in many cases, creating emotional ties between the consumer and their favorite brand.
Furthermore, Trademark Registration can become an asset, that is, a profitable investment, since the brand can be licensed and become a direct source of income through the receipt of royalties
Who can register a trademark?
The first thing you need to know is that, in Brazil, the government agency responsible for registering trademarks and patents is the National Institute of Industrial Property, also known as INPI. Since 1970, it has guaranteed rights over industrial property, a set of legal norms that ensure the protection of a creation or invention to its creator.
Therefore, you can request the INPI to grant registration of a name, logo and even elements that are characteristic of the company you represent.
According to Brazilian law, “all visually perceptible distinctive signs not included in the legal prohibitions, as set forth in art. 122 of Law No. 9279/96, are eligible for registration as trademarks” – this is the Industrial Property law, read more about it here.
Furthermore, according to the Industrial Property Law, Brazilians or foreigners, individuals or legal entities, may apply for Trademark Registration, provided that the trademark owner proves that his professional activity is linked to the intended use of the trademark. If, for example, you are a musician and want to register a trademark for a music institute, there will be no problem.
Trademark Registration is essential for anyone opening a company, but it is not mandatory. However, as you saw above, registration guarantees the right of ownership and exclusive use to the trademark owner throughout Brazil, in addition to preventing its unauthorized use by third parties. Imagine, after investing to launch your trademark on the market, discovering that a competitor uses a similar or identical trademark to identify its products or services? It is better not to take risks.
Anyone who registers a trademark is guaranteed the right to use it exclusively for 10 years. After this period, it is necessary to request renewal during the penultimate year. The ten-year extension of the registration may occur numerous times, it is enough to verify that there are brands on the market for more than 100 years. Another point that must be observed by the trademark owner: even if it is registered with the INPI, if it is not used after five years from the date of granting and there is interest from another company, the trademark registration may be terminated, releasing it to third parties.
INPI trademark consultation: do it now with VILAGE
As you already know, the Trademark Registration request is made with the INPI. This is a process that involves several steps that can last, on average, 6 months.
The first step is to conduct a search to confirm whether there is already a trademark with the name or symbol you would like to register. This search is important because it will analyze, in the INPI database, whether the trademark has already been registered. In addition, it will also need to confirm whether there is anything that could make it impossible to register the trademark. This is what we call a “feasibility search”.
Some people venture into doing this research on their own, but it is important to know that this is a meticulous task and requires the supervision of a specialist.
This is because each type of business belongs to a specific classification at INPI and you need to know in which of the 45 classes your brand can be registered. After doing this initial survey, you need to look for companies that sell products similar to yours and confirm whether any of them already have the brand you want registered.
The search should cover not only the exact word you are thinking of using for your brand, but also words that are phonetically similar to the one you have chosen, for example, “CH” instead of “X” or “K” instead of “C”.
Different words with the same meaning should also be part of the search – for example: “large building” and “large building”. And, if by chance the word chosen for your brand has a meaning in other languages, the search should also look for other languages.
There are four forms of brand presentation accepted by the Institute:
- Nominative trademark: type of trademark composed only of the name, using one or more words, expressions and combinations of letters and/or numbers.
- Figurative mark: as the name suggests, this type of mark only has drawings, symbols, icons, images and figures, isolated and/or together.
- Mixed trademark: here it is possible to combine text and image elements, that is, to combine words, letters and numbers with graphic elements. In this case, the Trademark Registration protects both the name and the logo.
- Three-dimensional trademark: the main objective of this type of registration is to protect the shape and/or layout, i.e., the unique appearance of a product or packaging. Thus, the holder guarantees the right to exclusive use of that specific shape, throughout the national territory, and, consequently, the right to prevent the launch of identical packaging.
Attention! After the registration is granted, many companies make small modifications or adaptations to the brand in order to update or modernize it. If you make any changes – whether to the spelling, images, icons, etc. – it is best to consult a specialist to confirm whether it is necessary to request a new registration application, since the brand will no longer be the same.
In other words: don’t try to do it alone. You run the risk of wasting time and money, as your trademark registration may be revoked by the INPI if you are unable to prove that you are using the trademark as it appears in the certificate at the time of granting. Having a qualified team to handle your Trademark Registration process contributes to its approval without interference, as well as to its maintenance. Furthermore, the feasibility research is only the first step before applying for Trademark Registration.
Trademark Registration Process Steps
After the search, the main steps in the process to register the Trademark are: filing, publication, approval and granting of registration.
First, you must organize and present the documents required by the institute, in addition to issuing and paying the Federal Collection Guide (GRU). However, this still does not guarantee your registration.
After being filed, the Trademark Registration application will be submitted for formal examination to continue the process. The examination will verify the payment of the fee related to the registration application and inconsistencies or inaccuracies in the data presented.
If everything is in order and there are no formal requirements, the registration application is published. At this point, once again, the supervision of an experienced professional is valuable. He or she should closely monitor the progress of the application, since at this stage the period opens for other companies to respond if they decide that your brand may harm them. Responding or not to this opposition can be decisive in the approval of your registration application.
Once approved, the Trademark Registration is issued in digital format, ensuring the owner exclusive use throughout the national territory for a period of ten years. After that, to avoid the risk of having your Trademark Registration terminated by the INPI, you must request its renewal during the penultimate year of the registration’s validity, that is, during the ninth year from the date the registration was granted. And, therefore, you must extend it, successively, every decade.
Furthermore, if the trademark is not used for more than five years, you may also lose the registration and all rights to it. This is what is called “lapse”. The law understands that there can be no “trademark reservation”. In other words, even if it is registered with the INPI, if the trademark is not used after five years from the date of granting and another company is interested, it may be declared lapsed, with consequent extinction, freeing it up for third parties to apply for its registration, causing incalculable losses to the former owner.
Faster and safer process for registering a trademark
As demonstrated above, the ideal and least risky option for a Trademark Registration application is to rely on the help of specialists who are already familiar with all the procedures and stages of the process. The qualifications of these professionals ensure the best solution for what you need and goes beyond the Trademark Registration application.
At VILAGE, for example, we have a team of over 100 specialists and 30 offices throughout the country, as well as in the United States, Germany and China. All of them are ISO 9001 certified, which further ensures quality and agility when monitoring any trademark process, preventing third parties from requesting or registering trademarks that are similar or identical to those of our clients.
Relying on the work of a specialist also reduces the risk of the application being denied and the waiting time for the granting of the application, since our role is precisely to monitor each stage of the registration process, positioning and updating the owner until the trademark is registered. Furthermore, thanks to the work of VILAGE specialists, 80% of trademark disputes are resolved amicably, without the need for legal action.
Do you want to register your brand? Do you still have questions about the subject? Contact VILAGE. We have a specialist ready to talk to you and answer all your questions.
VILAGE helps you buy brands
Many entrepreneurs have difficulty choosing a name for their business. It’s understandable. That’s one of the reasons why we offer a brand sales service. A safe way to guarantee the best name for your company without wasting time.
How it works: Our clients from various segments come to us to sell brands that they no longer use or are no longer interested in, and these brands are available for purchase at any time. This way, you can skip all the steps and time spent on registration and focus your investment on a brand that has already been approved and registered.
And the best part: all brands available for purchase undergo an economic study that confirms the future profitability gains for those who purchase any of them.
Check our Brands for Sale section for brands available for purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can register a trademark on your own or by requesting the support of a specialist who is
familiar with all the steps involved in the process. Therefore, the investment required to register a trademark can vary greatly and will depend on your decision, the fees that must be paid during registration and the eventual need for new documents, requirements, statements, oppositions, etc.
The first step is to do a search. The National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) itself offers a free service for this type of search. However, it is necessary to know how to do the search in the best possible way. Only a good professional will know how to use variations, prefixes and specific processes to leave no doubt as to whether the desired trademark is available for registration. In addition to the search, the specialist will also take care of defining the class, gathering documents, paying the GRU (Federal Collection Guide), filing the application and, finally, constantly monitoring the process until the final judgment by the INPI.
You can find out if a trademark has already been registered by searching the website of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), which makes its trademark database available for public consultation. It may seem like a simple task, but even for a superficial search, you need to understand the 45 INPI trademark classes before starting the search. That’s why it’s so important to have someone who really knows the subject. In addition to avoiding mistakes, a specialist will provide all the support you need to speed up whatever is necessary and ensure greater efficiency in your process.
Registering your trademark ensures that it is legally protected from copying and plagiarism. Registration is done with the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), which is responsible for examining the application in accordance with the Industrial Property Law and other administrative resolutions of the agency. To do so, you should consult a specialist in the subject, who can help you throughout the process, from the initial research to the granting of the registration.
You will not be guaranteed exclusive use of your brand to identify your products or services, and you run the risk of a third party registering it and preventing you from using it, diverting your customers in a way that harms your company’s profits.
With the Trademark Registration duly validated by the INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property, in addition to obtaining exclusive use of the requested trademark, the owner will be granted the right to prevent third parties from using a trademark that is identical or similar to the registered one. An advantage highly valued by companies is the possibility of licensing or even franchising the trademark.
It is not necessary to wait for the brand registration certificate to be issued before I can start advertising it. From the moment the application is filed, the owner is granted the right to protect the material integrity or reputation of the requested brand.
Depending on the activity to be protected by the trademark, it can be requested by both a legal entity and an individual.
With the issuance of the trademark registration certificate, its owner will be granted the exclusive right to use it to indicate the claimed line of business, throughout the national territory. If third parties use a registered trademark, its owner must notify them or sue them for improper use.
Yes, third parties may file an administrative request for nullity within 180 (one hundred and eighty) days from the date the registration is granted by the INPI, as well as a judicial request for nullity within 5 years. Therefore, constant monitoring and follow-up of the trademark is extremely important.
File a notification or take appropriate legal action to stop the illegal act.
No, since the brand has protection for the claimed line of business, except in cases where there is affinity between the segments.
There is no annual fee to maintain the Trademark Registration, you just need to pay the trademark extension fee, which occurs within a period of 10 (ten) years, renewable for equal and successive periods.
It will be necessary to file a new registration application to protect the new logo.
You can open a franchise with just a trademark application, and this information must be explicitly stated in the Franchise Offering Circular (COF) and in the contract, since the trademark is still under trial at the INPI and may not be granted.
These are different institutions, since registration with the Commercial Board protects the company name only at the State level, while the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) protects the brand at the National level.
No. This action can already be taken with the registration request.
If you own the trademark, as soon as you become aware of the improper use.
Yes, it is advisable to file the Manifestation of Opposition with the INPI, thus increasing the chances of success in your application.
Yes, it is advisable to file the Manifestation of Opposition with the INPI, thus increasing the chances of success in your application.
