Starting a new business is often daunting and time-consuming, but it can be extremely profitable and potentially life-changing. Do you know that small businesses in the world make up nearly all (90 percent) of the total global companies?

The first step to starting a business is to decide on a catchy brand trademark name that aligns with your brand's mission and distinguishes you from all the competitors.

Before you decide on a particular business name, it is essential to confirm that your chosen brand name is available in the country you are operating or planning to operate in. With Digip, you can do a free trademark name search and find whether your brand name can be trademarked in the country and business class/es you’ve chosen to.

Learn how much it costs to trademark a name, a step-to-step guide on registering a trademark name, and why trademarks are important in this blog.

What Is a Trademark? 

Trademark is a type of intellectual property (IP) that could consist of a symbol, name, or slogan that is legally registered around the world or in a particular jurisdiction that identifies services from a particular company.

For example, Nike has trademarked the brand name ‘Nike’ and the slogan ‘Just do it’. Nike can file an IP case for trademark infringement if another company uses its brand name and slogan to promote its brand.

Why Trademarking Your Brand Name is Important

Trademarks are crucial to build brand identity and preventing counterfeiting, fraud, and cyber stealing. For example, when you try to access a music streaming platform, the first brand that might pop up in your head could be Spotify.

A registered trademark business name is any company’s greatest asset and is permanent (Subject to renewal). It helps in protecting your brand from illegal use of your intellectual property.

What Is the Estimated Cost to Trademark a Name? 

The cost associated with trademarking a brand name depends on several factors. For each jurisdiction, trademark offices have different pricing. Similarly, the cost of filing a trademark in a single category/class differs from registering in multiple classes.  

You have the option of trademarking your brand name with or without the logo. Each trademark office has different pricing for additional categories. 

Let’s assume you are an e-commerce store selling apparel/clothes. Filing a trademark in the US through USPTO could cost you 275-325 USD for a single class. 

Similarly, trademarking a business name in Europe through EUIPO would cost you 889 USD (850 Euros) (single class). In Australia, trademarking your business name would cost around 250 USD.

Costs of Renewing Your Trademark

Trademarks are generally registered/filed for a period between 5-15 years, subject to trademark type and jurisdiction. Generally, renewing your business trademark name can cost you approximately 300-500 USD.

Adding a Trademark Watch

A substantial cost associated with protecting your brand after trademarking your business name is to make sure no one is infringing your trademark and exploiting the brand reputation to make profits. 18.1 million trademark classes were filed globally in the year 2021 alone. Unfortunately, often identical or similar trademarks are filed without no research. 

Trademark watchers identify and notify about new trademark applications which are filed or registered similar to your trademark that might hurt your business.

Manually protecting your brand or hiring a law firm for your business can be extremely expensive and ineffective. While most companies offer paid watch services, Digip offers trademark watch service which is already included in the subscription fee. Through regular notification of potential trademark infringements, you can take action in the form of opposition proceedings or similar to protect your position.

Steps to Register a Trademark

Now that you know the costs of trademarking your business name and how to check its availability, you can start filing the trademark application.

Next steps:

• Select the jurisdiction you want to register your trademark in;
• File an online application form either through official government website such as USPTO and EUIPO or online trademark services company like Digip;
• Wait for the processing (typically 6 months to 12 months);
• Manage and monitor your IP portfolio

The main justification for utilizing a trademark is to prevent other parties from registering the same trademark and competing with your company. Take Apple, Coca-Cola, or Pepsi as examples. Anyone attempting to use these names would be subject to legal action for intellectual property infringement.

Your trademark is a way for customers to recognize you. Identity theft and trademark infringement are becoming more and more prevalent in today's era of social media. The last thing you want is for someone to misuse your company name.