Can a company in same industry with similar name exist?

In short, the answer is yes; however, a seasoned trademark attorney would be the best person to ask regarding your particular situation. That being said, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) routinely rejects trademark registrations based on the “likelihood of confusion” that consumers would face between a prospective trademark and one that is already on file with the USPTO. According to the USPTO, “likelihood of confusion exists between trademarks when the marks are so similar and the goods and/or services for which they are used are so related that consumers would mistakenly believe they come from the same source. Each application is decided on its own facts, and no strict mechanical test exists for determining likelihood of confusion.” Some things to consider regarding “likelihood of confusion”:

Trademark in Vietnam

Aside from being rejected for having a similar textual composition to an already-existing trademark, a new registration may fail for also sounding alike, looking similar or creating “the same commercial impression in the consuming public’s mind”

The USPTO looks at whether a likelihood of confusion would exist as to the source of the goods and/or services rather than whether the actual goods and/or services are likely to be confused

The USPTO cannot perform pre-application searches or provide advisory opinions regarding registrations (hence the importance of an attorney - see below)

Businesses often seek the assistance of a lawyer to make sure their application gets accepted (which can be a time consuming process) and to avoid any future potential legal liability. For competitive rates on registering your trademark with the help of experienced trademark lawyers.

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What is the importance of trademarks?

A trademark is any sign that individualizes the goods or services of an enterprise and distinguish them from the good or services of the other similar goods or services available in the market or in simple language it is anything that helps in differentiating a product in the ocean of similar or same category of products.

Trademark protection in Vietnam 

Although it is not mandatory and is most often ignored by the entrepreneurs but it remains one of the most important asset of any business.

Some of the important reasons are.

An important tool for effective communication: It is a proven fact that an average consumer identify and remember any brand more easily and effectively through its logo. Your mark can convey intellectual and emotional messages about you, your company, its products or services. A mark need not be a word to be identifiable. It can be a symbol, sign or combination of colours etc. Like “swoosh” design of Nike is recognized worldwide although it doesn’t have any word on it.

Trademark enables your customer to locate you: In this open economy the market place is crowded and consumers have too many options for one single product or service. Trademark proves to be an efficient tool to capture consumer’s attention and make your products and services stand out. Consumer viewing a trademark immediately know who they are dealing with. Often reputation of a particular trademark play a critical role in customer’s purchasing decision.

Trademark facilitates to effectively utilize the internet and various social media platforms: We all very well know how important is to have an online presence in this era. Your brand name is the first thing any customer enters into google or social media site like Facebook, twitter to know about your products and services and basis his decision on the published information.

Trademark is a valuable asset: A trademark fall under class of intangible asset and can appreciate over time. The value of any trademark is directly co-related to the reputation of business. Trademark paves the way for expansion from one industry to another. For example - Titan the homegrown brand for watches has become so popular over time and they used the same trademark to launch their eyewear range in recent past. It helped people to attribute same trust to this newly launched brand which titan watches have and this helped in boosting the company’s ambition for expansion. Trademarks similar to real estate can be bought, sold, licensed or at times used as security interest to secure a loan for your business.

Trademarks are perpetual (i.e they never expire) : Unlike other forms of intellectual property, trademark can exist for entire life of your business provided you renew it after every 10 years.

Source: Quora

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What is the importance of trademark registration?

Trademark Registration is a legal protection for your Brand name which can’t be copied by any other party Legally. If in case they copy that brand then through the Rights under Intellectual Property Act. The owner of the Trademark can recover the whole profit earned with the name of Registered Trademark.

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Many of my clients have said that their lenders or investors felt more comfortable once registration was achieved in important countries.

if you have registrations in major countries such as US , UK you can persuade amazon, eBay etc. to shut down infringing websites without the time and expense of court action.

Customers even search and see you are serious about your rights. It is so cheap to do you look very cheap if you don’t do it.

If you need to prevent infringing use by competitors the court will assume that your right is valid until the other side has proved that it is not. The percentage of registrations found invalid is minuscule. Once you have registration it can be renewed forever as of right. In the UK registration no 1 remains valid as the owners renewed it every ten years since 1876. You have to police the use of the mark, use and renew and then it’s yours forever.

If you have a registration potential licensees have an easy way of finding you. Lenders can give loans secured on registrations.

It is wise to consult the advice of a IP attorneys in Vietnam to help assist you with your trademark. We are a legal marketplace with quality lawyers who are knowledgeable in various areas of the law—including intellectual property rights.

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How can I check if a domain name has been registered as a trademark or not?

As many of the answers have pointed out here, there are several online searches you can use. However, I would urge you to utilize the skills of a professional trademark attorney.

Register trademark in Vietnam

I suggest this because there are many nuances to conducting a thorough trademark search. Conducting a search on your own is an option but you’d be surprised at how many people make mistakes throughout this process. In order to ensure that it’s a thorough search, you are better off relying on people who can ensure that the domain name has not already been registered. Keep in mind, not all protected trademarks may not appear in th TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System).

Ultimately, this could save you valuable time and money.

If you would like to be in touch with a trademark attorney in Vietnam, reach out to us at ANT Lawyers. We are the largest platform of freelance attorneys that offer quality legal help at an affordable rate.

Hope this helps!

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When do I need to trademark my company?

This is not your question, exactly, but the most vital step is to do a comprehensive US trademark search before spending any money on marketing and merchandising. You do not want to waste time and money on a mark that is strikingly similar to another product or service.

Trademark Law Firm in Vietnam  

If that is not an issue, I recommend that you trademark your startup shortly after you incorporate. I suggest this for two reasons:

-First, if you’ve done a comprehensive trademark search (which you’ll do during the trademark filing process), you can find out if you’re actually infringing on another company’s mark. This will help to avoid significant time and legal fees in the future.

-Second, although you can claim ownership of your trademark without formally registering with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), your rights are limited to the geographic region where your trademark is used. So, by formally filing, you can have protection across the US.

I really do recommend working with an attorney familiar with the trademark process to help you through the process.

A trademark attorney can

-Complete a thorough trademark search

-Fill out the application

-Ensure that deadlines are met

-Guarantee that the process has been completed properly

Source: Raad Ahmed - Quora

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What do you have to do to establish trademark rights in the United States?

The most secure thing to do is to apply for a trademark.

You have to remember, your trademark is what sets you apart from your competitors and ends up being a valuable part of your brand. You should absolutely protect it.

Trademark Law Firm in Vietnam 

Of course, in the US, you don’t necessarily have to file for a trademark if you can prove that you’ve used it in the marketplace. However, it’s not always so simple to prove this, so your best option moving forward is to file for the application. There will be a review period and then you will be registered for 10 years. You’ll need to renew it after that.

A few things to keep in mind

-There are strict guidelines and deadlines with the registration process.

--The USPTO doesn’t give refunds if you make mistakes on the application.

Your best bet is to hire a skilled trademark attorney to help you through the process.

A trademark attorney can

-Complete a thorough trademark search

-Fill out the application

-Ensure that deadlines are met

-Guarantee that the process has been completed properly

Source: Raad Ahmed - Quora

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How long is a trademark good for?

In the US, a trademark can last indefinitely (which is different than the case of patents or copyrights). However, the catch is that the trademark must continue to be used to identify goods and services. Keep in mind, there is a federal term for trademarks which is ten years. You can continue to renew for ten year periods.

However, there’s a bit of a catch here. You must file an affidavit between the fifth and sixth year following trademark registration. This affidavit simply states that the trademark is still in use. Failure to file this document will lead to a cancellation. It’s up to the individual to remember to do this as there will be no reminders issued.

Related post: Can a trademark expire?

Your best bet is to have an attorney help you with this process. It can be timely and expensive to miss important deadlines.

Source: Raad Ahmed - Quora

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What does trademark protect against?

Trademark is a sign that help distinguish the goods or services of one enterprise from those of others. Together with industrial design and patent, trademark of goods and services plays an extremely important role for the growth of the enterprise. Trademark establishes a link between enterprise and customer.  A strong trademark will attract customers to use goods or services. When trademark is popular and economic benefits achieved through sale of goods or provision of services coupled with trademark is large, the violation of trademark is inevitable.

 Trademark registration services in Vietnam 

Trademark is a monopoly, allowing only the owner to make use of the trademark in connection with a business or product. (Similarly, Service Marks do the same thing for services.)

These brand names cannot be used by competitors on their products or businesses. If they try to do so, they are infringing on your trademark and the owner of the brand name must sue them (or risk losing their trademark protections.)

Not, registrations are very specific. If you are not using your trademark in another class of business, someone else can name their non-competing product with that name. So, if you are Apple (makers of the iPhone), Apple Plumbers is not competing with you. Perfectly okay for them to use that mark.

And “nominative use”, where someone is actually referring to your product, is also okay. How could I refer to the company Disney if I could not use their name? I just can’t name my media company with their name.

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