According to the statistics of violations related to corporate names - i.e. company names - it only gets bigger. To protect yourself from violation of your rights, it is important to take into account some of the nuances when registering your company name.
Instructions
Step 1
In accordance with civil law, the name (company name) is a mandatory attribute of any company. Unlike a trademark and service mark, it distinguishes one company from another, regardless of the goods or services that the company sells. The firm name consists of an indication of the organizational and legal form of the company and the actual name (for example, LLC "Romashka").
Step 2
The company name is indicated when registering the company with the tax authorities. It exists as long as the company exists. A company whose firm name is registered in the prescribed manner has the exclusive right to use it. However, there is a complication here - a large number of "twin" companies, i. E. having the same brand names. To avoid such difficulties, the registration of a company name as a trademark (for a product) or a service mark (for services) helps.
Step 3
Registration of a trademark or service mark is a rather complicated procedure. Such a mark will not be registered if:
1. it coincides in whole or in large part with an already registered mark. This can be verified by submitting an appropriate application to Rospatent.
2. it misleads the consumer (you cannot call yogurt mayonnaise).
3. it has elements of state emblems, flags, full or abbreviated names of state organizations.
If your trademark or service mark is suitable for registration, then you need to complete and submit an application for registration of a trademark or service mark with Rospatent. You can do it yourself or contact a patent attorney.
Step 4
In order to fill out the application correctly, it is important to determine in which class of goods and services the trademark or service mark will be registered. This is done using the International Classification of Goods and Services (ICGS), approved by the Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Registration of Trademarks dated 1957-15-06. You also need to describe the trademark or service mark (how it looks, how it is formed). It is important to indicate the priority date of the trademark. It exists so that a person who submitted an application with a similar sign later than you cannot register it.
Step 5
Attached to the application:
1. receipt for payment of state duty.
2. a copy of the constituent documents of the company.
3. A letter from the Federal State Statistics Service, which indicates the statistics codes assigned to the company.
