Whether your business is a growing start-up or has recently gone through a rapid sprint branding process, the next step is to take the steps necessary to register and protect it in the territory where it operates.
If the branding process takes place internally, before embarking on any changes, make sure your brand name and new identity are eligible for national registration (OSIM) on the service and product classes your business operates on. It is recommended that you do a detailed eligibility check and contact an intellectual property specialist.
One aspect to consider at this stage is a future international expansion of your services and products, which requires verification and protection of the brand at European (EUIPO) or worldwide (WIPO) level. Alternatively, you can only register your brand identity in countries where you know exactly that the brand will expand in the future.
It is recommended to register the brand identity in the form of a combined trademark, that is, both the verbal expression of the brand (name) and its graphic expression (logo). To protect and reduce the chances of future opposition, it is advisable to also include the slogan or the main colors that you use in the identity. For cases where the new brand includes a product design or packaging with unique and innovative elements, consider registering these elements as industrial trademarks or patents.
Keep in mind that the registration process is a lengthy one (there is a period of checking and waiting for possible objections), so it is recommended that you make the registration steps as quickly as possible, once you have your identity completed.
Protecting your brand is just the first step. Remember that a brand is truly differentiable when its products and services are connected to the values of the brand, and through the communication and experiences offered to consumers, it becomes unique.