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Nov 13, 2020 | The Benefits of Strong Trademarks

The Benefits of Strong Trademarks

A unique trademark is the strongest trademark and afford the trademark owner with the highest level of protection. Below are some of the reasons why having a strong trademark is so important: –

(1) You have a better chance to approve your trademark application. The more common your trademark, the smaller the chance of obtaining approval; and the greater the chance of encountering similarity (or identical trademark) issues. As you can see, the more unique the trademark, the more legal protection it will ultimately obtain under the applicable law.

(2) After approval, you can better defend your trademark. Even if the Hong Kong Trademarks Registry (The Registry) approves your registered trademark application, it cannot automatically protect it from all challenges from others. Weak trademarks are more vulnerable to attacks by other parties, and these third parties may try to prove to the Registry that your trademark is too broad or too close to a generic term to continue to be exclusive and protected. Stronger, fictitious or arbitrary trademarks will be better protected from such claims.

(3) You will stand out in the market. This has practical implications for your business. Trademarks exist to prevent confusion among consumers and clearly identify your products or services on the market. Stronger trademarks are classified as good trademarks because they are considered the least likely to confuse consumers based on their unique qualities – they are completely fictitious words or phrases that do not have previous meanings, or they are the existing words that are not necessarily related to your products or services.

The brand advantage of the strong trademarks is that consumers can identify them with you (and you alone). Even if the trademark registration is approved, weaker trademarks are likely to be confused with other trademarks that may be somewhat similar, or cause unconscious associations with consumers. The more unique you are, the stronger your trademark will be, and the more consumers will think of your brand name and products, resulting in better commercial profits.

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