A global trademark has the power to protect your brand across many different countries. We take a look at these and other benefits, and how to get started.

If you come up with an original idea, taking the necessary steps to protect it is essential. There’s no shortage of malicious actors waiting to claim your intellectual property (IP) as their own. Filing a trademark can help safeguard what belongs to you.

In 2020 alone, over 13 million trademark applications were filed. While a domestic trademark often provides sufficient protection, a global trademark takes things one step further by extending to multiple countries.

Not everyone understands this area of trademark law, though. Let’s break down the key benefits global trademarks provide.

Global Protection

One of the most important attributes of filing a global trademark is the global protection you’ll experience. As long as your trademark is registered in a country, you can rest assured that your IP is properly safeguarded.

Having this level of protection in place makes it much easier to scale your business. Imagine if you intended to open branches of your company in Asia, for example. Without a global trademark, you could encounter conflicts that make running your brand in these locations difficult.

Cost Efficiency

Registering a trademark can seem costly at first. Legal fees, registration fees, and administrative costs quickly add up.

The good news is that global trademarks will prevent you from having to file separate trademarks in the countries where you wish to operate. The further your business expands, the more cost-efficient the global trademark becomes.

Take a moment to imagine how expensive it would be to file a trademark in 15 separate countries. Not only will this require thousands of dollars, but it will also take substantial time to gain approval.

You should also consider the convenience of filing a single application. You won’t need to worry about managing countless different documents.

Improved Trademark Enforcement

Some people avoid filing an international trademark due to enforcement concerns. Someone might assume they would never know if their IP is infringed upon in another country.

Many countries have agreements and treaties that recognize global trademarks. This can help put your mind at ease and allow you to focus on other obligations.

Infringement Prevention

Trademark infringement occurs when another business provides products and services similar to yours. This can create a large amount of confusion among your audience and make it difficult for them to differentiate your brand from theirs. More often than not, this can result in a large decline in sales and damage to your brand reputation.

With a global trademark in place, you can take legal action against anyone who infringes upon your intellectual property. This could mean the difference between whether your brand reaches its target metrics in other countries.

Increased Brand Visibility

Put simply, your brand isn’t yours until you’ve appropriately protected it. By filing a global trademark, you can safely emphasize branding strategies without worrying that someone will infringe upon your IP. This can drastically increase your brand recognition in the countries to which you expand.

Trademarking your brand conveys to your audience that you’re serious about your company’s success. It illustrates that you run a legitimate business that strives to provide quality goods and services. Increasing your brand visibility will also help you attract top industry talent.

Consider the tech industry, for instance. Someone looking to work at a top firm as a software engineer likely immediately thinks of Facebook, Google, Apple, etc. Having your brand come to mind like this can go a long way toward finding the right employees.

Getting Started

To get started, you must already have a trademark registration or have filed a trademark application in the United States.

The international trademark application must list the same owner and trademark as your US application and registration. To clarify, let’s assume that you want to file a global trademark for your construction company.

You would need to have already filed for a trademark domestically. The information on your international application must reflect that of your domestic documentation.

Your international application’s list of goods and services must also be the same or narrower than those of your basic registration/application. Afterward, you need to pay a fee for each class of goods or services in your application.

This fee can vary depending on multiple factors, so check with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Afterward, your application will go through multiple rounds of review.

This is the most time-consuming part of the application. If all goes well, you will be awarded the global trademark. Working with a lawyer can help you fluidly navigate the trademark acquisition process.

Finding a Lawyer

When searching for an attorney, take a look at their past reputation to see what previous clients have had to say. There should be no shortage of stellar feedback.

You should also ensure that they focus primarily on this area of law. Just because an attorney advertises they can handle trademark acquisition doesn’t mean they’re the best option.

See if they have worked with people like you in the past. For instance, you might be a business owner looking to file a trademark in 20 different countries.

If they have never handled a project of this scale, you should search elsewhere. Consider their pay structure, as well.

It’s best to fully understand what you can expect to pay before you get started. They should have no issue providing an itemized breakdown of their services. Ask if they charge a flat fee or bill by the hour.

Finally, assess how easy it is to communicate with them. Applying for a global trademark is a highly involved process, and you should work with someone who seems interested in helping you meet your goals.

File a Global Trademark ASAP

Do you intend to go global with your brand? If so, it’s essential to file a global trademark to protect your intellectual property. From here, you can focus on further scaling your business and catapulting your performance to new heights.

Ready to get started? Book a consultation with Berkeley Law & Technology Group today. Our professional staff can guide you through the process and help bring your vision to life.