How To Copyright a Name - Company Name Protection

This comprehensive e-book Guide on name ‘copyright’ and how you can register a trade mark yourself is written by a practising solicitor with over 25 years experience in the field of name copyright protection, trade marks and the legal issues involving protection of brand names.

The material is presented in a simple, practical, easy-to-understand style that takes you step-by-step through the whole subject and explains exactly why you need to register a business name as a trade mark, how to get copyright in a name and what to do if things go wrong or a potential legal problem comes along, such as someone else challenges your right to a name.

Introduction

A Chapter overview and introduction to the subject of name copyright on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

Chapter 1: The Value of A Registered Brand

The importance of registering a name as a trademark – how to avoid wasting a lifetime in business – how to avoid losing major commercial opportunities by copyright protecting your business names – the dangers of not protecting your brand and getting copyright in your name- how to get exclusive ownership of a name – the central importance of name protection to investors and lenders – dramatically increase your price on a business sale by guaranteeing your exclusive right to use a name -how trademark registration can help you develop your business in various other strategic ways.

Chapter 2: The Legal Background

The legal issues involved in choosing a product or service brand name – the downside of getting it wrong - the importance of registering a trademark - a review of other registration processes - company name registration - domain name registration

Chapter 3: How To Avoid The Common Pitfalls

The importance of searching - why register? - timing issues - when is the right time to protect your brands and business names? - why it is important to choose a distinctive name - what is meant by a 'distinctive' brand - why you should avoid descriptive names - the names ‘blacklist’ to be avoided at all costs (and how you can get around some of the restrictions) - easy ways to draw up your specification - importance of the Trade Mark Classification Classes - international aspects of brand protection - how to avoid and deal with common problems.

Chapter 4: It Is Your Name Legally Available?

How to identify any likely legal issues with your name - what is meant by a 'legally available' name - review of your search options - the UK IPO resources - deciding whether to use a paid search agency links to free online searching and expert legal advice services. A detailed step-by-step guide on how to check out the availability of your name - how to do unlimited name availability searches without any cost - how to get free advice on name availability issues - how to set a search strategy - tips on searching - examples on how to do a search.

Chapter 5: A Quick Overview of the Registration Process

An easy guide to the registration process - how to prepare a trade mark application - how to draw up a trademark specification - how to lodge your application online - how to deal with an examination report from the registry - the significance of publication - what is an opposition - the registration process - rights of renewal - how to monitor your registrations.

Chapter 6: The Classification and Choosing Your Classes

What is meant by the Trade Mark Classification - how to choose which Classes are relevant to your business -how to choose your Main Class - how to decide which other Classes are relevant to your business.

Chapter 7: Drafting Your Own Trade Mark Specification

What is a trademark specification - what should go into your own specification - how you in a draw up a winning specification for your application - top 10 tips on drawing up a specification - examples of specifications that you can use for your own application.

Chapter 8: How to File Your Application Online

A step-by-step guide on how to file a trade mark application online - how to draw up a trade mark application - what you should put in an application - how to complete the relevant forms.

Chapter 9: Responding to an Examination Report

How to deal with the Registry - how to respond to the examination reports - how you can deal with the relevant issues - taking part in an informal hearing with the Registry - the important legal provisions and how you can address them.

Chapter 10:How to Deal with an Opposition

What is an 'opposition'? - how you get to know about them - how you should approach an opposition - the relevant opposition timescales - the opposition process - how you can avoid an opposition - how you can settle an opposition and get name copyright registered.

Chapter 11: Free Legal Advice and Telephone Support

Full contact details to enable you to obtain free legal advice and support in relation to name copyright, brands, logos, copyright and any trademark issues affecting your business.

Appendix 1: Useful Extracts from The Trade Marks Act 1994

Extracts from the relevant legislation and a library all the useful links and resources

Appendix 2: Detailed Specification Examples

Some detailed examples of actual specifications that you can ‘block-and-copy’ to help you prepare your own trade mark specification.