Importance of Trademark in Business

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry that administers and implements the State policies declared in Republic Act (RA) 8293, known as the Intellectual Property (IP) Code of the Philippines. It protects and secure the exclusive rights of scientist, inventors, artist, and gifted citizens to their Intellectual Properties and creations, particularly when beneficial to the people.

Lawyer Lemuel Montes of the Department of Trade and Industry Region 8 said pne of the services of IP Philippines is the granting of trademark. A trademark can be a word, a logo, design, shape, numbers and modes of packaging – or any combination of these – that identifies a product or service and distinguishes it from the products and services of others, he added.

Trademark is important because of various reasons, Atty. Montes said. The main function of a trademark is to enable consumers to identify a product, whether goods or service, of a particular company so as to distinguish it from other identical or similar products provided by competitors. Consumers who are satisfied with a given product are likely to buy or use the product again in the future. For this, they need to be able to distinguish easily between identical or similar products.

Registration, under the relevant trademark law, gives the company the exclusive right to prevent others from marketing identical or similar products under the same or a confusingly similar mark, Atty. Montes further said.

Moreover, without trademark registration, Atty. Montes said investments in marketing a product may become wasteful as rival companies may use the same or a confusingly similar trademark for identical or similar products. If a competitor adopts a similar or identical trademark, customers could be misled into buying the competitor’s product thinking it is the company’s product. This could not only decrease the company’s profits and confuse the customers, but may also damage the reputation and image of the company, particularly if the rival product is of inferior quality.

Trademark plays an important role in determining the success of a product in the marketplace, thus, it is critical to make sure that it is registered in the relevant market, Montes said.

Trademark may also be crucial in procuring an additional source of revenue for the company, or may be the basis for a franchising agreement. On occasion, a registered trademark with a good reputation among consumers may also be used to obtain funding from financial institutions that are increasingly aware of the importance of brands for business success.

Montes said trademarks ensure that consumers can distinguish between products; enable companies to differentiate their products; are a marketing tool and the basis for building a brand image and reputation; may be licensed to provide a direct source of revenue through royalties; are a crucial component of franchising agreements; may be a valuable business asset; encourage companies to invest in maintaining or improving product quality; may be useful for obtaining financing.

Those who are interested of registering their trademark may visit the nearest IP Office at the DTI offices in their respective areas. (PIA 8)