Well the Indian legal system does not make an obligation for a company whether it being a sole proprietorship or a private limited company or any company for that matter to get there logo registered as such but the relevance of a registered logo is something which cannot be ignored with, but before arriving at conclusion as to whether there is need to register a logo or not certain terms and conditions needs to envisaged and clarified with, which are hereby referred to.
- CONCEPTION OF LOGO
Logos are a critical aspect of corporate marketing. As the company’s major graphical representation, a logo facilitates a company’s brand and becomes the single most visible manifestation of the company within the large targeted markets. For this reason, a well-designed logo is an essential part of any company’s overall marketing strategy which can be further enhanced through legal protection. In India for granting legal protection to a logo a company or an individual claiming to be the proprietor of the trademark needs to get it registered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999
- ADVANTAGES OF A LOGO REGISTERED AS A TRADEMARK
- LEGAL SANCTITY- Once a logo is being registered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 there are various provisions in the act which will provide for a legal protection to it and the infringement of which may confer a right upon the proprietor of the registeredlogo toinitiate action against those responsible, in order to claim monetary compensation. Thus a registered logo provides an exclusive right to the proprietor.
- DISTINCTIVE IDENTIFICATION-The concept of distinctive identification does not only states that the services given or products manufactured by the company should be different from that of other but in its broader sense its states that the distinction should be such that no other competitor can infringe upon of what a particular company is offering to its customers and this is where a registered logo plays a vital role since it provides a company a distinctive legal identity which cannot be used by any other company.
- GEOGRAPHICAL BANDWITH- When a proprietor gets its logo registered under the Trade Mark Act, 1999 generally the protection granted to it is a nationwide protection which means that he enjoys the exclusive license to market its products and services under the registered logo without any third party intervention. Thus this helps to capture a big market and increase the capital.
- ASSET CREATION– The protection given to a proprietor under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 is an intellectual right which gives him the right of selling, franchising or commercially contracting with other company. Thus a great amount of money is generated which eventually leads to asset creation.
- GOODWILL ENHANCEMENT – When a logo is registered it creates a sense of trustand quality assurance in the minds of the customer of the uniqueness of the product or services of the company. Which eventually leads to enhancement in the goodwill of the company.
- CONSEQUENCES OF NOT REGISTERING LOGO AS TRADEMARK
- NO RECOURSE TO LEGAL ACTIONS – The first and foremost consequence which a proprietor would have to bear is that there will be no recourse to any legal action since because law only provides a remedy when a right subsists but since the logo being unregistered cannot have its recourse to any legal action for any infringement.
- EFFECT ON BALANCE SHEET- A logo registered as trademark is considered to be an asset of the company and is always reflected in the balance sheet but in case it is not being registered it ceases to be included in the balance sheet which can lead to more liabilities and less assets and eventually can affect the profit margin of the firm.
- LOSS OF GLOBAL MARKET- A logo registered in India as trademark could be used as to tool to secure trademark in other countries for carrying out its business. However if the logo is not registered it becomes very difficult to procure a trademark in that respective country in which the proprietor of the trademark professes to carry on its trade and thus it may result in loss of global market.
- LOSS OF UNIQUE SYMBOL IDENTIFICATION- Registered logo grants the proprietor of the trademark to use the ® symbol when the mark is used for the goods and services listed in the registration which gives him the ultimate sovereignty to use it for commercial purpose and on the other hand unregistered logo are to be designated by a superscript “TM” which can be used by anybody professing to be the proprietor of the trademark. Thus there is a loss in unique symbol identification as far as unregistered logo is concerned.
CONCLUSION
Thus based on the analysis of the above advantages and the consequences one could infer that it is proximate to get a logo registered since it will help the proprietor to convey the intellectual attributes of the product and services of his firm or company and would also help to gauge more consumer attraction. Thus it is advisable to get a logo registered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
To apply for Trademark Registration click here
Author: This blog is written by Mr. Rohitesh Tak, a passionate blogger & intern at Aapka Consultant.
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