Have you created a slogan or tagline for your business? If you have, you may want to protect it by filing a trademark with the Trademark Office. Generally, there are two types of taglines companies seek protection of – taglines tied to an advertising campaign and taglines on a merchandise.
Before you apply for a trademark:
Research potential conflicts with your slogan
It is necessary for a proposed tagline to be unique. Before you file your slogan as a trademark, it can be beneficial to ensure that a similar slogan is not in use already. To get good search results, you can make use of internet searches and the Canadian Trademarks Database. If you find a similar slogan, it doesn’t matter if the company has registered the slogan or not. If the company is in the same industry, there may still be a conflict with the slogan found in your search. To carry out a more in-depth search, a third-party research company may be hired.
When applying for a trademark, you should know that:
You can apply for a trademark online
You can visit the Trademark Office’s website to apply for a trademark. You may not need an attorney to fill the application, however it is recommended to have one. Mistakes made during filing can lead to invalidity of your trademark registration in the future.
There is a fee to apply for trademark
The Trademark Office explains its fees before you apply. Even if your application is denied, the application fee will be non-refundable. Therefore, you should be sure of any potential conflicts with your slogan before you apply.
The review process takes time
The Trademark Office will notify you if your trademark application has been approved or denied. An examining attorney reviews your application and this process generally takes between six to nine months. You can monitor the status of your trademark application by using the trademark applications and registrations retrieval database.
If you want to trademark your slogan, you should consult with a trademark agent. An experienced trademark agent will be able to guide you well. It is a good idea to trademark your slogan if it is going to be used frequently on goods and services or is to be linked closely with an advertising campaign.
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