A brand is a distinctive sign that allows your company to differentiate itself from competitors. It gives you some credibility as a business, and therefore a better chance of success. Protecting your brand and domain name is very important in the process of creating and surviving a business. It is therefore important to protect the brand of your company, your domain name, and your products/services.
Reading this article will give you an in-depth understanding of the concept of trademarks and domain names and the importance of protecting them. It also aims to provide you with advice on how to protect your brand and your domain name, thus securing not only the goods and services linked to your brand but also your commercial visuals.
To understand this article on the protection of trademarks and domain names, you must own a domain name, have a trademark, or have one planned. You must also have a more or less complete view of copyright and intellectual property.
Table of Contents
All about the brand: definition and purpose
The brand is the heart of your business. It is associated with your identity. It is a reflection of your values and what you do. This is why it is essential for you to know in detail what a trademark is, and why you absolutely must protect it.
The brand is the added value of your business. It does not only refer to your logo, it includes everything that makes your company unique: your slogan, your domain name, your commercial visuals, your communication articles… You will have understood it, the brand represents everything that you stand out from your competitors. It is above all what makes it possible to identify a company and the goods and services it offers.
The trademark is a legal protection
A trademark is a right, and this right is protected by the Intellectual Property Code. The brand is also a financial asset since it allows you to be compensated when someone uses your brand without your consent. This may be the case of your competitor who hijacks your image or your employee who uses your logo for personal purposes. For this right to be respected, it is essential to protect your brand.
Nowadays, companies can no longer do without their brand. The fact of not having a trademark goes against the obligations arising from the Intellectual Property Code. If a trademark is not registered, it cannot be legally protected and risks being usurped. But that’s not all, because an unprotected trademark does not generate any financial interest, which is not desirable for companies.
A brand is a communication tool
Your brand is above all a communication tool for your company: it is what allows you to communicate effectively with your customers and partners. It is a distinctive sign that serves to distinguish your company from the competition in relation to its offer, its commercial policy, and its mode of communication. The brand is also a guarantee of quality in the mind of the consumer. It allows him to carefully identify the goods and services offered by your company and to find these same products throughout the country. Your brand is also at the heart of your company’s marketing strategy.
Why and how to protect your brand?
Trademarks are signs, denominations, logos, trademarks, trade names, and any other distinctive information that belongs to a company for the purpose of giving it an identity. Iconic brands such as Nike, Apple, and Samsung are more or less known. But what about your company’s brand ? In other words, what is your company brand? And how to protect it?
Why should you protect your company’s brand?
Contrary to popular belief, protecting your brand is not an unnecessary precaution. The fact is, when you’re not careful about protecting your brand, you’re exposing your business to a great amount of risk. Both you and your team are responsible for protecting your company’s brand. The risks to which you are exposed are as follows:
- The risk of losing customers;
- Financial losses;
- The impossibility of further exploiting your products and services;
- The loss of credibility of your brand;
- etc.
What you need to remember is that protecting your brand is a way to prevent the risk of losing customers. Brand protection is also a means of preventing financial losses. Indeed, in the event of counterfeiting, you are faced with financial losses. Also, if you decide to protect your brand, you will have new opportunities for exploitation. Finally, protecting your brand increases your company’s credibility.
How to protect your brand?
The issue of trademark protection is an important topic for businesses, large and small. Indeed, intellectual property is often the primary means of protecting your copyrights. The first step is to register your trademark with the INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) or the NCBI (National Center for the Brand Identity). First of all, it is important to choose the right brand. The procedure for registering a trademark is relatively simple. All you need to do is do some due diligence and fill out an online form and build a case.
Determine your products and services and classify them
To register your trademark, you must determine the goods and services that will be covered by your trademark. You must then determine their class according to the international classification, known as “Nice”. There are several categories: fashion items, alcoholic beverages, pharmaceuticals, etc. To determine the products you are going to protect, you must analyze the market in which you wish to position yourself. You will have to mention them when entering your trademark registration. Note that you must think about it carefully because you will not be able to add any more products/services after the deposit has been made. You can get more detailed indications and download the Nice 2021 classification on the official site of the INPI.
Check the availability of a brand, logo, company, or domain name
The second step is to check the availability of a brand, domain name, or company. Indeed, you must check that these names are not used by a competing company. This check is essential before filing a trademark or domain name. You can check the availability of a brand or logo online, directly on the INPI website. The service is chargeable, from €150, and lasts 72 hours. The results will not be commented on, so you will need to hire an IP advisor.
Register to protect your brand and domain name
The next step is the actual filing of your trademark. The procedure is done electronically only. You can therefore file a trademark online. A brand portal guide will be available on the filing page. Try to be very attentive when filing, as corrections are subject to a fee of €104. You can access INPI’s E-procedures portal for your procedures and your titles online.
The trademark registration gives you 10 years of protection, which you can renew indefinitely. This protection of the INPI is then valid only on the whole of the French territory. For European or international protection, you must contact the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). The INPI website offers you the possibility of carrying out your international protection procedure. In this context, you will have to check the availability of the brand in the country of establishment.
The reaction of the INPI after your filing
After the actual filing of your trademark, the INPI sends you an acknowledgment of receipt followed by a receipt, which will bear the date and a national number of your filing. You must mention this number in each of your correspondence with the INPI. Within 6 weeks, the INPI will publish in the BOPI (Official Bulletin of Industrial Property) and examine your request in-depth. He could of course issue objections, and send you any observations or objections. Everything is clear and any objections settled, the INPI publishes the registration of your mark at the BOPI and sends you the registration certificate.
How much will your brand cost you?
E-filing itself costs €190 for one class. It is prudent and wise to designate all of your goods and services, these could belong to different classes. You must then select all the classes that make up your activity. For each additional class, it is necessary to count 40 €. There are 5. In short:
- Electronic filing at €190;
- Additional classes: 5 x 40 € (200 €);
Your trademark registration will therefore cost you the maximum sum of €390 to be paid on the day of the deposit by credit card or via your customer account.
Congratulations, if you have carefully read the article so far, you now know what to do with your brand and understand why it is important to secure your goods and services by protecting them through the ‘INPI. For more comprehensive information, in order to understand the intellectual property of the trademark, go to the INPI website to find out, when to file your trademark? Who can submit it? Now let’s approach the domain name in the same way because it is also an important part of your company’s identity.
Reserve a domain name: why and how?
Choosing the best domain name for your business can be a tough decision. It is important to remember that your domain name is the best traffic tool you have. Your domain name must be relevant, easy to remember, and reassuring for your target. If you want to grow your business, you have to be on the internet, so it’s essential to choose a domain name that will help you reach your target. Unlike the trademark, the domain name does not constitute intellectual property. Indeed, for the domain name, we speak rather of reservation.
Domain name and brand: What is the link?
For exclusively online activity, it is advisable to protect your domain name by filing a trademark with the INPI. You will thus choose as classes, those of the products and services that you market on your website. You will then benefit from legal protection. This is unfortunately not the case with a simple domain name reservation. You run the risk of being sued if you use a domain name similar to a registered and protected trademark.
In any case, you will not be the only one to have a domain name with the same name as that of your company. Indeed, the domain name is a common name. Anyone has the right to use this name and the only way to protect your brand is therefore a trademark registration with the INPI.
How to reserve a domain name?
How to buy a domain name ? It’s relatively simple. All you have to do is choose a registrar (website or domain name reservation service provider), choose the name and extension, and validate the payment.
In order to choose a domain name, it is necessary to take into account your activity, your sector of activity, the theme, and the content. Once chosen, it is possible to reserve the domain name even before registering it. You will then have to send a registration request to the INPI and AFNIC.
A domain name is essential for a brand. It is essential to have a domain name to differentiate yourself from the competition. It will also allow you to always be in a good position on search engines, thanks to the links on the web that will be created with your domain name. Don’t forget that the domain name is an element of your brand that you absolutely must protect.