Commercial law
Building a brand legal checklist
Building a brand involves grappling with some complex issues such as values, vision, personality and how the brand is to be positioned in the marketplace, but there are other considerations which are critical to ensuring the legal protection of the brand which should be addressed from the outset.
These include registering a company name, domain name, design, and/or trademark. This handy checklist flags some key legal issues that are often overlooked when too simplistic an approach is adopted. Not addressing these properly during the initial stages can have serious consequences for future brand value.
Download PDF- Check Companies House for the same or similar company names to help avoid potential ‘passing off’ claims
- Use dormant companies to protect names that you may need in the future
- Make sure that you register in the relevant jurisdiction
- Carry out trademark, domain name and social media searches before you finalise a company name
- Consider carefully what Top Level Domains (e.g. .com, .net) you wish to register
- Consider having a portfolio of similar, misspelled, abbreviated and short form domain names – to prevent third parties taking advantage of the brand
- Ensure domains are registered in the name of the company and not the website developer
- Register with social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (even if the account is left dormant it stops your brand being hijacked).
- Search the trademark registers to ensure the new name does not infringe existing marks
- Check for:
- Exact matches
- Marks which are phonetically and/or visually similar
- Class registrations.
- Check for unregistered marks and how and where they are used
- Ensure that you use the TM and ® symbols correctly – using ® symbol incorrectly can be a criminal offence.
- Ensure the trademark is registered in the name of the company
- Apply for registration in the relevant jurisdiction
- Think carefully about class registrations and how you describe the goods and services you seek to register
- Remember that the best trademarks are made up new words (acronyms are good) or original designs
- Think tactically and strategically about future products and services and how they should be branded.
- Ensure logos are unique, original designs and not copied from elsewhere
- Ensure the intellectual property in the logo is owned by the company and not the designer
- Protect the brand before you go public with it
- Be active about looking for infringing activities which devalue your brand
- Act swiftly when you discover anyone infringing your rights otherwise you may loose your right to take future action
- Get expert advice so you don’t fall foul of ‘groundless threats’ actions
- Licence and manage the use of your brand to protect it and exploit it commercially
- Consider if services like Google Ads could help you find out how third parties are using your brand
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