Case Study: The Protection of a Business' Intellectual Property

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Creating a Unique Trademark To complete registration, a trademark has to be truly distinct in the territory where protection is being sought. Below are some key things to consider when preparing to apply for a trademark.

Table 2 Key Issues in the Registration of a Trademark

1. Trademark Classes

Trademarks are registered by classes, which are defined by an international classification system - the Nice Classification (http://www.wipo.int/classifications/nice/en.) For example, sauces and condiments are registered under class 30. A product or service may be registered under multiple classes depending on the use or planned use of the trademark. The cost of each additional class registered with BELIPO is BZ$75.00. You can register up to 5 classes in one application in Belize. A trademark is registered on a territorial basis, that is, you can apply for a trademark solely for Belize. This means that where you are trading in other countries for each of these where you want to protect your trademark you will need to apply for registration in each. In some countries, you must prove that you have been using the trademark within a specified period in that country otherwise the registration maybe cancelled. In Belize, the period is five years. The trademark can be registered in black and white without limiting use in colour. The key considerations are the overall impression given, whether the addition of colour would change that impression and whether the colour represents a distinctive aspect of the trademark. In these instances, you should register the colour version. To maintain the registration of the trademark indefinitely, the trademark must remain distinctive and not become generic so for example, Kleenex, JetSki, Aspirin, Velcro and Bubblewrap which are generally used for similar products. You should always apply the registered trademark symbol® on your products or services. You can also apply the symbol ™ which indicates to the public that the name, sign, symbol etc. is being used as a trademark prior to registration

2. Territory

3. Use

4. Colour

5. Generic Names

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