British car company Jaguar announced last week a new rebrand of their iconic logo. Sparking backlash online, many social media users flooded their feeds with criticism. One user said they felt the rebrand “would tarnish the company.” Jaguar responded “Quite the opposite. This is a renaissance.”
Despite the harsh comments online, so far they’re sticking to their guns as to why they’ve made the change. Part of their rebrand is due to their move to become an electric-only vehicle company by 2025. You can read more here.
So how do you protect your IP when you rebrand?
Let’s take a look.
The Power of Your Brand & Its Trade Mark
A trade mark is a legally enforceable way to protect and identify your business’ goods & services from other competitors. A trade mark can be a name, image, logo, slogan, colour, smell, sound, shape (or combination of these things) so long as it’s capable of distinguishing in this manner.
Why should you consider registering a Trade Mark for your business?
- It gives you exclusive rights to commercially use, license or sell your trade mark within Australia (and any other countries your trade mark is registered in adhering to their laws) within the class of goods/services it’s registered under.
- It legally restricts competitors from copying your trade mark registrations (names, symbols, etc.) and gives you the right to sue for damages if anyone breaches your trade mark.
- It strengthens your reputation in the marketplace. If the value of your business goes up, so too does the marketing value of your trade mark. Your trade mark is a valuable asset.
When your business seeks a rebrand, consider the following:
- Will you be retaining its existing trade mark/s?
- Have you registered a new trade mark/s to protect your rebrand?
- Have you adapted your IP strategy to incorporate your rebrand?
Rebranding & Registering a New Trade Mark
All the same rules apply to a rebrand when it comes to registering a trade mark. You must ensure you’ve done your due diligence in regard to researching the existing trade marks database so as to not infringe on any other businesses trade marks.
If your brand has already built up a reputation in the marketplace, consider the timing of when to register a trade mark.
As a trade mark database is a publicly available resource, some well known brands only register their trade mark on the same day as announcing their rebrand. Others will do it in advance which may alert the public to their rebranding plans.
