It is very important to trademark your brand or business in the long run. As you know, it is important to register your brand so that no one can claim your brand name in the future. However, it is not easy to trademark your brand without rejection.
There can be many reasons why your trademark can get rejected. It is a very difficult process to trademark your brand without any kind of rejection. So, in this article, learn the process to do it correctly.
Rejection can cause a lot of delay in the trademark registration process for your brand or business. Not only that, but you will also lose a lot of money and time due to rejection. So, it’s better to know everything beforehand to avoid all these instances.
Reasons For Rejection Of Trademark Application
As you are aware of the significance of a trademark for your brand. But it can get rejected due to a lot of factors. Broadly, there are two main reasons why it can get rejected.
Here, we have discussed all the major reasons for your rejection of the trademark application, so that you can have a better understanding:
- Your trademark application can be rejected under Section 9 of the Trademark Act. If your application is too generic or descriptive, it can also get rejected.
- Similarly, under Section 11 of the Trademark Act, your trademark application can be rejected if you have applied for the same name that is already registered under the category of the same goods and services. So, the selection of your brand name becomes a very important task to trademark your brand without rejection.
Ways To Avoid Trademark Rejection
You can avoid the rejection of a trademark just by following some simple and easy steps. Read out the steps mentioned below:
Proper Market Research Of Your Brand Name
Finding a proper brand name is the most important thing before registering your brand. You must make sure that you do proper market research on your brand name to find out if the name is already registered or not.
It would be better if you hired an attorney who could do proper research on your behalf. They will find out whether there is a similar brand name already existing in the market or not for the same goods and services. It would be better to do this research at an initial level so that you can save a lot of time and money and also trademark your brand without rejection.
Avoid Deceptive Terms In Your Brand
Avoiding deceptive terms means the same thing mentioned above, that you must not use the same brand name that is already registered under the same goods and services. Because doing this will lead to the rejection of your trademark under Section 11 of the Trademark Act.
So, you must avoid this mistake to save your time and money. Also, it would be better if you do thorough research beforehand.
Avoid Offensive Marks
You must make sure that there are no offensive marks on your trademark application. Offensive marks imply any offensive name or mark towards any particular religious or social group. To trademark your brand without rejection, you must make sure you don’t hurt the sentiments of any religious or social group.
Apart from that, it is a very sensitive topic and you shouldn’t make any offensive remarks regarding it. So, be careful with these things!
Avoid Descriptive Marks
One of the major reasons why many trademarks get rejected is the use of descriptive marks on your brand name. Under Section 9 of the Trademark Act, you can’t use descriptive marks. For example, if you are going to start a chip business or a clothes shop, you can’t name “chips or clothes” as your brand name.
So, you have to think of some unique or creative name for your brand or business that is not descriptive and also not owned by anyone. This simple thing will help you trademark your brand without rejection.
Do Not Use Obscene Marks
You should be very careful with the language or statement you are making for your brand. It should not contain anything vulgar or obscene, because that will surely lead to the rejection of your trademark. So, make sure whatever you are mentioning in your trademark is ethically right and doesn’t contain any obscene marks.
Using any obscene marks will lead to a violation of Section 9 of the Trademark Act. So, strictly avoid these things.
Do Not Use Any Patriotic Marks
It is strictly prohibited to use any patriotic mark or word in your trademark. To trademark your brand without rejection, you should make sure that there is no use of words related to a government, state, country, national anthem, or national flag.
So, your trademark should be free of any patriotic marks or words. Otherwise, it will lead to rejection of your trademark.
Avoid Using Generic Marks
You can’t use generic marks or words in your brand name. It means that for example, if you have a furniture shop, you can’t name “furniture” as your brand. In other words, you can say that the brand name shouldn’t be descriptive and that it should not describe your brand or business.
Following these things will help you trademark your brand without rejection!
Conclusion
Be very careful while deciding the name of your brand. It would be better if you did proper, thorough research before finalizing everything. Also, make sure not to make the name descriptive or generic, as that can lead to rejection. Just keep all the above points in mind to avoid any kind of rejection and smooth trademark registration for your brand.
