28 July 2008

Theft of trade marks

Protect your trade marks against theft in the global market.

An increasing number of Danish firms experience that their trade marks are registered in markets where the firms themselves have not registered and protected their trade marks. Often, shady firms make the registration in order to obtain rights to the trade mark in the countries in question. The purpose is to sell the rights back to the rightful owner or even blackmail the firm for a ransom.

'The theft of the trade marks can be compared to cyber squatting (the theft of others' trade marks on the internet). Here, companies' domain names are hijacked for the purpose of re-sale,' says Ellen Breddam.

Trade mark strategy

The international trade mark registration system is founded on the national rights where the owner of a trade mark must decide in which markets the trade mark must be protected and registered. Having a trade mark registration in Denmark, therefore, does not mean that the trade mark is protected in other markets.

"My best piece of advice for firms is to work out and follow through a trade mark strategy that is carefully in line with the firm's business strategy," says Ms Breddam.

Relevant markets

"Take the long term view and always conduct research on the market in which you want to launch a new product or trade mark. Consider which markets are relevant for your firm to-day and in five years," says Ms Breddam and emphasises that the trade mark strategy must be adjusted according to the development of the firm.

It is also paramount that you obtain the rights to your trade marks in the markets in which you have production facilities, even if you do not sell your products in these markets. Be-cause then you will be in a better legal position if you encounter counterfeiting of your prod-ucts.

Surveillance

"Continuous watch of your trade marks is also crucial. We always offer our clients a national or international watch of their trade marks. In this way they can keep up with what is going on and can make an opposition if their trade mark is infringed," says Ms Breddam.