Choose and clear your brand

The more distinctive, the better. Invented or arbitrary names, with no link to your product, are the strongest. Descriptive names, such as 'Fast Legal' for legal services, are refused or hard to enforce, and laudatory terms, common shapes and geographical names cause trouble too. A name that hints at the product without describing it can work, but expect more debate. Check this before you invest in a logo or a website.

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It is strongly advisable. Registering a mark does not give you the right to use it if an earlier right exists, and the owner of that earlier right can oppose your application or act against your use. A clearance search looks for identical and similar earlier marks, and often company names and domains, in the relevant territories, and ends with a risk assessment. It costs far less than a rebrand.

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Often yes, if the goods and services are far apart and there is no likelihood of confusion. A mark with a reputation is protected beyond its own products, so stay away from famous brands. Unregistered earlier rights, such as a trade name or a well-known local brand, can also block you. A clearance opinion weighs these risks before you launch.

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A name can be fine in one language and awkward, offensive or descriptive in another, and a mark that is free in one country can be taken in the next. Check the meaning and pronunciation in the languages of your target markets, and run the clearance search in every country or region where you plan to sell, not only at home. Our clearance tooling screens a name in 36 languages before an attorney reviews the result.

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Yes, ideally on the day you file the trademark, because names are cheap to register and costly to recover. Take the main name in the extensions where your customers look, and the handles on the platforms you will use. A registered trademark is what lets you act later if someone takes a similar domain, through a UDRP complaint or in court.

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For most companies, a few well-chosen registrations of the main name in the extensions where customers look are enough, together with a trademark to act on if someone else registers a similar domain. A dedicated brand extension is a separate, costly and long-term project, mostly relevant for large brands that want control over their whole online namespace. ICANN is preparing a new round of applications in 2026.

• SolutionsNew gTLDs for Brands →
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Trademark rights are territorial. You can file with a national office, with the EUIPO for the whole EU, or extend internationally through WIPO. Regional options exist too, such as the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in a single filing. Choose based on where you sell or plan to sell, and on your budget. File the exact sign you use, define the goods and services carefully and check availability first. Pitch prepares, files and follows up the application.

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Trademarks are registered for goods and services grouped in the 45 classes of the Nice Classification. Protection covers what you list, so a list that is too narrow leaves gaps, while claiming goods you never intend to sell weakens the filing and can expose the mark to revocation for non-use. List what you sell now and realistically plan to sell, using accepted wording. Pitch helps you choose.

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Six months. Under the Paris Convention, a first trademark filing gives you six months of priority to file the same mark for the same goods and services elsewhere and keep the first filing date. After that you can still file, but anyone who filed in between comes first. An EU trade mark covers all 27 Member States in one filing, and the Madrid system extends a mark to other countries from one application.

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Register the name as a word mark first: it protects the name in any style or font. A logo is protected as a figurative mark, and only as it appears, so file it too if the design matters or if you will use the logo without the name. Product shapes, packaging and the look of an interface can also be protected as designs, which must be new; in the EU you have 12 months after first disclosure to file.

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Office fees depend on the territory and the number of classes: an EU trade mark costs EUR 850 for one class, EUR 50 for the second and EUR 150 for each further class. Add attorney fees for the search, the filing and any objections or oppositions, and a renewal every 10 years. Use the six-month priority period to spread filings in other countries, and compare scenarios with our cost estimator before you commit.

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Missed deadlines are the most avoidable cause of lost rights. Trademarks are renewed every 10 years, patents need annual fees, and domain names renew on their own cycle. Keep one register with owner, territory, status and due dates, review it regularly and drop rights you no longer need. Pitch manages portfolios and renewals for clients, with reminders ahead of each deadline.

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Yes. If you do not put a registered mark to genuine use for the registered goods and services within five years of registration, or for any five consecutive years after that, anyone can ask to revoke it, and you cannot rely on it against others. Genuine use means real commercial use in the market, not token use. Keep dated evidence, such as invoices, catalogues, screenshots and advertising, per country and per product.

• AcademyTrademark Registration: From Application to Registration →
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In a written licence that sets the products, territory, exclusivity, duration, quality standards and your right to check them, how the mark may be shown, and what happens at the end. Agree who maintains and enforces the registration, and who pays for it. Record the licence with the trademark office where that protects you, for example so that an exclusive licensee can act against infringers.

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It can, if the licensor stops supervising. A licensee who sells poor-quality goods under your mark can harm your reputation and, in the long run, make the mark misleading or weaken its distinctiveness. Include quality standards, approval rights, rules on how the mark is shown, and termination for breach. Use by a licensee with your consent counts as use by you, which helps against revocation for non-use.

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With a written assignment, signed by both parties and recorded with each office where the mark is registered. Until it is recorded, the new owner may not be able to rely on it against others, and the office keeps writing to the old owner. Make sure domain names, social media accounts and pending oppositions move with the mark, and check that no licences or securities are attached to it.

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Brand value comes from the income the brand brings in, its strength in the market and how well it is protected. Valuers mostly use the relief-from-royalty method: what you would pay to license the brand if you did not own it. You need a value for licensing, a sale, financing, a transfer within your group or your accounts, and a clean, well-documented portfolio raises it.

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Only for a mark that is registered for the products concerned, in the country where you use it; in some countries misusing it is an offence. ™ has no legal meaning but signals that you claim the sign. Use the mark consistently, as a brand next to the generic name of the product, so that it does not become the common word for the product, which can cost you the registration.

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First establish what rights you have and where: registered trademarks, prior use, trade name. Then assess whether there is a likelihood of confusion, comparing the signs, the goods or services and the markets. Depending on the outcome you can send a letter, negotiate a coexistence agreement, oppose a pending application or start proceedings. Act promptly, since long tolerance can weaken your position. Pitch advises on the option that fits your goals.

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Collect evidence first: screenshots, URLs, test purchases and dates. Then use the notice-and-takedown routes of the marketplace, social network, host or registrar, which usually require proof of your rights and a precise description of the infringement. Repeat sellers may need a formal letter or legal action. Pitch monitors the web for your brand and prepares and files these takedown notices.

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Opposition is a fast, relatively cheap route against a pending trademark application, but only within a short window after publication. A cease-and-desist letter suits a clear infringement where a settlement is likely. Court is for when the other side refuses, causes real harm or you need an injunction or damages. Weigh cost, evidence, risk of counterclaims and your business relationship with the other party.

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Offices and courts make an overall assessment, looking at visual, phonetic and conceptual similarity, how identical or related the goods and services are, how distinctive the earlier mark is, and how attentive the relevant public is. A weak or descriptive element carries little weight. Similar marks can coexist for unrelated goods, and identical ones can still clash. A reasoned opinion helps before you spend on a dispute.

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The window is short and starts when the application is published. At the EUIPO it is three months, and other offices have their own, equally strict periods. You can only know about applications in time if you monitor the registers, which is what a trademark watch does. After the period closes you usually have to go for cancellation or invalidity, which is more expensive and slower.

• AcademyWhat Is a Trademark Watch? →
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If you hold a trademark, you can file a UDRP complaint for generic extensions such as .com, or use the equivalent procedure for country extensions. You must show that the domain is identical or confusingly similar to your mark, that the holder has no legitimate interest, and that it was registered and used in bad faith. Court action is the alternative. Start by securing evidence and trying a letter.

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Capture the infringement in a way that can be shown later: dated screenshots with the URL, archived pages, product samples, test purchase receipts and sales figures if available. Also assemble your own proof: registration certificates, evidence of first use, and the chain of ownership. For high-value cases, a bailiff’s report or a seizure procedure may be useful. Do not alert the other party before the evidence is secured.

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Start with a clear brand policy that is part of the contract: what they may say, which logos and keywords they may use and what is forbidden, such as bidding on your brand name in ads. Then monitor compliance across websites, marketplaces and ads, and follow up with a reminder, a warning and ultimately termination. Unauthorised use by non-partners is handled as infringement. Pitch checks compliance with brand policies.

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Yes. With an application for action, customs authorities across the EU watch for goods that infringe your trademark or design and detain suspicious shipments. You then confirm the infringement, and small consignments can be destroyed through a simplified procedure. The application is free, is renewed every year, and works best when you give customs good information on how to tell genuine from fake.

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