When it comes then to choosing a name for your business, product or service, it makes sense to choose wisely.\u00a0Not least because you don\u2019t want to infringe someone else\u2019s rights and consequently have to re-brand (which Telecom\/Spark had to do in 2014, replacing its proposed ShowmeTV brand with Lightbox.\u00a0And you also don\u2019t want to offend anyone, as Birkenhead Brewery Company did in 2016 when it featured M\u0101ori ancestral legends on its beer labels.<\/p>\n
Choosing wisely means conducting a trade mark search before you settle on a name. A name search isn\u2019t just a search of the New Zealand Companies Register, though: it includes searching the trade mark registers of each country of potential interest and the Internet for trademarks that are not registered, but are being used and which could be problematic.\u00a0Searching might sound like a simple job, but it isn\u2019t: it is a multi-levelled and technical task, best undertaken by a trade mark professional.\u00a0By conducting such a trade mark search, you are giving your business, product or service the best chance of avoiding conflict and a re-brand (and the associated costs).<\/p>\n
A search then should be an integral part of the name choosing process.\u00a0Unfortunately, it often isn\u2019t. And because it isn\u2019t, I regularly encounter businesses having difficulties with the name they have chosen.\u00a0For example, I was recently told of a start-up that had to change its name just before launch because it didn\u2019t undertake a search.\u00a0It didn\u2019t only have to change its name however \u2013 it had to change its signage and all its promotional materials and also had to tell everyone its intended name had changed.\u00a0Had it conducted a search it would have saved itself both cost and inconvenience.<\/p>\n
Start-ups and SME\u2019s often don\u2019t conduct searches because of cost \u2013 searching is seen as an expense instead of an investment. But this is a mistake.\u00a0Searching is an investment in the ability to use your chosen name now and into the future.\u00a0Moreover, the cost of a search is significantly less than the cost of re-branding or of defending trade mark infringement allegations.\u00a0The failure to undertake a trade mark search is not an issue exclusive to start-ups or SME\u2019s \u2013 that would be unfair and untrue.\u00a0I know of one international consumer products company, for example, who is currently facing a re-brand for the New Zealand market because it seemingly did not conduct a search here before trying to launch.\u00a0The cost and inconvenience to this business will be huge.<\/p>\n
When it comes then to selecting a name \u2013 your trade mark, your badge of origin \u2013 I repeat, choose wisely. You never know how much that name will be worth one day.<\/p>\n