Trademarks - chance without one

Truss

You create a product under say the name "ProductABC", you don't trademark the name, you find that your product sells like hot cakes and you think you better Trademark it to protect it, can someone else still beat you to the trademark? Say some smart person sees your business name and knows it's doing well, they check to see if you have it trademarked which you don't, can they just trademark and then you can no longer even use it?

Are trademarks a bit like .ie domains where you have to have some form of right to use it, you can't just randomly go around trademarking names?

conolan

You can apply for a trademark for €70. If it's accepted you then pay €177 to complete registration, but this will be some months later.
So you could apply, launch product and if it flops, don't complete the registration.
You don't specifically have to prove entitlement especially if you are registering a 'new' term

patftrears

Truss wrote: »

You create a product under say the name "ProductABC", you don't trademark the name, you find that your product sells like hot cakes and you think you better Trademark it to protect it, can someone else still beat you to the trademark? Say some smart person sees your business name and knows it's doing well, they check to see if you have it trademarked which you don't, can they just trademark and then you can no longer even use it?

Are trademarks a bit like .ie domains where you have to have some form of right to use it, you can't just randomly go around trademarking names?

Anyone can register anything as a trade mark, no restrictions.

If a company has been using a name and you go and register the name as a trade mark. You would have to go to court to get them to stop using the name.
They have been trading under the name so have a prior claim and would win in court.

You can stick TM after anything and say you are using it as a trade mark.

random.stranger

conolan wrote: »

You can apply for a trademark for €70. If it's accepted you then pay €177 to complete registration, but this will be some months later.
So you could apply, launch product and if it flops, don't complete the registration.
You don't specifically have to prove entitlement especially if you are registering a 'new' term

I'm very surprised at how cheap it is to do this yourself having heard it costs over a thousand to get it professionally done. I understand the advantages of hiring a good patent attorney, is there any need to get a trademark agent or is it safe enough to do a diy job?

conolan

random.stranger wrote: »

I'm very surprised at how cheap it is to do this yourself having heard it costs over a thousand to get it professionally done.

Perhaps you are mixing up trademarks and patents. Patents is serious stuff, lot of research and filing of paper. Patents relates to inventions, trademarks to name for products and services.

random.stranger

conolan wrote: »

Perhaps you are mixing up trademarks and patents. Patents is serious stuff, lot of research and filing of paper. Patents relates to inventions, trademarks to name for products and services.

Hi Conlon
Sorry if my post wasn't clear. No, I wasn't confusing trademarks with patents. I was just asking if there were any pitfalls of filing for a trademark yourself (as there are with patents). Judging by the lack of responses- it appears not.

Thanks, that's a great tip.