TRADEMARKS
​Brands command power and loyalty.
When your brand succeeds, your competitors will seek to exploit your success.
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Protect your name, logo and brand with a formal trademark registration starting from R5,000.
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What is a trademark?
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Why you should trademark your brand
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How does a trademark protect me?
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What can be trademarked?​
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How much does it cost to register a trademark in South Africa?
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Does a trademark give me international protection?
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How long does it take to register a trademark?
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What's the difference between common law trademark (TM), and registered trademark ® ?​
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What’s the difference between a trademark, copyright, and patent?
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How long does a registered trademark last? Do I need to renew it?
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What happens if someone else uses my trademark without permission?
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I registered a company name. Do I own the trademark to it?
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Get started with trademark registration
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a sign that identifies your brand and distinguishes it from others. It can be a name, logo, slogan, shape, color, or even a sound, provided it’s distinctive.
Why should you trademark your brand?
Trademark infringement damages your business.
When customers recognise your brand, and associated it with the good qualities you've promised in your marketing, they're more likely to buy your product.
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Unscrupulous competitors will seek to exploit your success, and associate themselves with your logo or slogan to benefit unfairly off your brand strength. The real problem arises when that competitor's product is substandard. When a customer buys a knockoff food item, thinking it's part of your brand, then gets sick - they'll blame you, and your brand reputation suffers.
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Trademarking your brand is essential to protect your business.
Competitors will try to copy your brand. A formal trademark registration is the ammunition you need to protect your brand.
How does a trademark protect me?
A trademark is a formal application for and registration of your design with the Trademarks Office. This is your proof that you own the design. If someone infringes on your design, you can use this proof to force them to stop using it.
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Without a registered trademark, you have to rely on common law rights - which is comparable to relying on a verbal agreement instead of a written one, i.e. you have less evidence to support your claim. That's why it's essential to trademark your brand's name, logo, slogan, and even brand colour if it's distinctive.
What can be trademarked?
You can trademark a name, logo, slogan, shape, colour or even a sound - as long as it's distinctive.​
For example, if you've created a new drink, you should consider trademarking the following:
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Your business name (Drink Corp.)
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Your product name (Super Cola)
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​Your logo (e.g. the ribbon badge)
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Your slogan (Makes braais better)
Used as an illustrative example and not associated with the brand pictured.
How much does it cost to register a trademark?
A trademark registration comprises two parts:
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a search of the Trademark Office and across platforms to check if your intended mark is available (from R1,500) and​
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a formal application for registration of your mark (R3,500).
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This cost is applicable to domestic filings and per mark. A name, logo, slogan and colour are each separate marks.
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Speak to us for a quotation on international filings and multiple marks.
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Example: Our Trademarks
Maybery Inc. owns the following trademarks:
Brand
Product
Logo
Slogan
MAYBERY INC.
Protect | Prosper
The Knight Logo
"Get the legal advantage"
The Protected Business Logo
"No mercy for bad tenants"
The Protected Property Logo
Frequently Asked Questions about Trademarks
What's the difference between common law trademark (TM), and registered trademark ®?
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Common Law Trademark (™)
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A common law trademark is informal protection the common law gives an unregistered mark. It's much more difficult and expensive to prove you own a trademark this way, because you must show reputation and prior use.
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Registered Trademark (®)
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A registered trademark is a formally registered mark which is itself strong evidence of your ownership of the mark. It is therefore cheaper and easier to prove you own a trademark once it's registered - so it's a no-brainer to register yours.
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What’s the difference between a trademark, copyright, and patent?
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Trademarks protects brand identifiers (names, logos, slogans). Trademarks must be registered.
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Copyright protects creative "works" (books, music, software, designs). Copyright arises automatically upon creation of the work.
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Patent protects inventions and technical processes. Patents must be registered.
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How long does a registered trademark last? Do I need to renew it?
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In South Africa, a registered trademark is valid for 10 years from the filing date of the application. You can renew it indefinitely, every 10 years, as long as you keep paying the renewal fees in time. Contact us to renew your already-existing trademark.
What happens if someone else uses my trademark without permission?
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You can take legal action, such as sending a cease-and-desist letter or suing for infringement. A registered trademark makes enforcement faster and more effective.
I registered a company name. Do I own the trademark to it?
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No, not necessarily. Many business owners think that by registering their business name, they own the trademark to the name too. Unfortunately, this is wrong. Make sure you register the trademark over your company name as soon as possible after registering your company (in fact it may be strategically wiser to register the trademark first!)
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What happens if I don't do a trademark check first?
John creates a new brand and decides a tiger logo represents it best. He doesn't bother checking if his logo is available.
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Best case: his design doesn't stand out from the millions of other tiger logos. His brand struggles to get ahead.
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Worst case: his design infringes on the intellectual property of a large food corporation. The ensuing lawsuit destroys his brand and the legal costs decimate his finances.
Cost of a proper trademark check and registration: R5,000
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Cost of lawsuit for trademark infringement: over R100,000.
