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An Overview: Difference between Trademark and Design
A trademark protects the symbols or words you use to identify a product as emanating from your own company. A design registration, on the other hand, will allow you to protect the physical appearance of a distinctive product that you intend to sell to the general public (as long as that appearance does not interfere with the product’s function in any way). Under some conditions, both types of protection may be available to cover a single design, providing extra benefits to the owner of these rights.
Key Differences between Trademark and Design
The distinctions between trademark and design registration are as follows. Knowing the distinctions can help you make an educated decision about which IP protection method to choose.
Trademark registration is intended to protect the emblem of a firm. The appearance of the trademark is the determining factor in determining what is a trademark. There is protection in place so that other companies cannot use the same mark without danger of being sued. A trademark search is also required prior to the registration process. Design registration is intended to protect the product’s design. We’re not just talking about how the product appears here; we’re also talking about what the product does.
The Trademark Act of 1999 protects trademarks. This statute stipulates that a mark that may be graphically depicted and distinguishes one person’s goods and services from those of another can only be considered for registration. The Design Act of 2000 protects a design. Only the shape, configuration, ornament, pattern, or composition of lines or colours applied to an article by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article can be seen by the eye, are protected by this act.
A trademark has some legal protection. As a result, under legal recourse and representation, an unregistered trademark is not refused. A Design has some legal rights as well. These rights, however, are not as potent as trademarks. To that purpose, if the real article does not match the documentation, some type of corrective action can be done.
A trademark might be a wordmark, a logo, a form, or simply a single word. To that aim, it must be distinct, but it does not require creativity. A design has a specific function and application. It’s more than a depiction. Experts must have developed it to that purpose. As a result, it must be creative.
The Takeaway
In order to ensure all-around protection of your company’s brand and products offered, trademark and design protection is an absolute must. Get in touch with the experts at Zolvit at the earliest to get the process started. Contact our team today!
