Registrable and Non-Registrable Trademark

Registration of a trademark is subject to stringent requirements designed to safeguard ownership rights and to distinguish an enterprise’s goods or services. A valid mark must be distinctive, memorable, and must not merely describe the goods or services it protects.

Criteria for Assessing Distinctiveness

1. Novelty and Creativity
   • The mark must incorporate verbal or graphic elements that do not replicate existing signs in the marketplace.
   • Example: “Trama” (for a digital trademark registration service) is concise, memorable, and does not directly describe the professional activity.
2. Ability to Distinguish
   • The mark must not prompt consumers to immediately associate it with the nature or function of the goods or services.
   • Descriptive expressions such as “Trademark Experts” will typically be refused because they plainly describe the service and are freely usable by any competitor.
3. Compliance with Prohibitions
   • Non-descriptive: Exclude names like “doggo catto” for pet-products.
   • Non-misleading: Avoid terms such as “super delicious” for beverages goods.
   • Non-offensive: Do not contain profane language or indecent imagery.
   • Non-purely-figurative: A mark cannot consist solely of the shape of the relevant product (e.g., a key silhouette for locksmith services).

Illustrative Examples

• Registrable Marks
  • “Sparring” for business and legal consultancy services.
  • “Vacuumlabs” for information-technology services.
• Non-registrable Marks
  • “Rouge” for hairdressing services (a generic term).
  • “premiumshield” for bodyguard services (a descriptive term).

Exceptional Circumstances

In rare instances, a descriptively-worded mark may be accepted upon demonstration of acquired distinctiveness through prolonged and intensive use within the relevant territory.

Example: “Websupport,” despite its descriptive nature, has become recognized by the relevant public as indicating a single source.

Search and Territorial Scope

• Applicants must conduct a thorough availability search to ensure the proposed mark is not identical or confusingly similar to existing registrations for related goods or services in the same jurisdiction.
• Exclusive rights are granted only upon satisfaction of all legal criteria and without infringing third-party rights.