How to Trademark Your Brand Logo to Qualify for Verified Mark Certificate?

Introduction

You must have seen many businesses have logos in their email signatures. Businesses trademark these logos before they can use them with email. Organizations use Verified Mark Certificate to display their company logos directly in the customer’s email inbox, which enhances the credibility of their communication with their customers.

Trademarking the logo helps VMC to authenticate emails which prevents customers from phishing scams, and enhances the email authenticity because it is hard to spoof a trademarked logo.

Also Read: How to Create a BIMI Logo that Meets All Key Requirements?

Furthermore, as per BIMI standards, it is a must for organizations to have a trademarked logo to obtain VMC certification because trademarking ensures that the company that is claiming a logo to be displayed for their mail has all the legal rights and ownership of that logo.

Also Read: How to Implement Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) to Display Brand Logo on Email?

In this article, let us understand how you can trademark a logo that will help you to qualify for a VMC.

Step-by-Step Process to Trademark Your Logo

Countries worldwide have different trademarking laws that give your brand all the rights to protect itself from being spoofed. In most cases, to register your logo for trademarking you will need:

• Identity Proofs
• Your Brand Name
• Power of Attorney
• Affidavit

These processes are complex and time-consuming. It is advised to get help from registered authorized agencies or trademark agents who can help you file for your trademarking.

If you are in India, visit https://ipindia.gov.in/trade-marks.htm. This is the government’s official website where you can find all the accessibility related to logo registration.

Let’s see the steps on how to get a trademarked logo:

Step 1: Consult the company’s legal team – Your legal team knows the law of your country and what documents you need in order to get the trademarked logo.

Step 2:  Are you a government body? In this case, all you need is a government mark- Before you start your trademarking process, if your organization belongs to a government body you just need a government mark. These marks are symbols that act as the official identity of a government organization.

These marks are unique and are already registered. Below are the countries and offices where if you have a government mark you already qualify for VMC.

Currently, the VMC Guidelines officially recognize seventeen intellectual property offices:

• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
• Canadian Intellectual Property Office
• European Union Intellectual Property Office
• UK Intellectual Property Office
• Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt
• Japan Trademark Office
• Spanish Patent and Trademark Office O.A.
• IP Australia
• Korean Intellectual Property Office
• Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial
• Intellectual Property India
• Danish Patent and Trademark Office
• French Patent and Trademark Office
• Benelux Organization for Intellectual Property
• Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand
• Swedish Intellectual Property Office
• Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property

Step 3: While applying for trademarking, clearly describe what services your company provides.

Step 4: Make sure that the logo you are registering is of high quality and must comply with the trademark guidelines set by the registering authority.

Step 5: Do your thorough research before submitting the logo as it does not conflict with other registered organizations trademarked logos.

Once you complete all the checks above, your logo goes to the examiner who verifies all the information you provided.

If all the documents and logos meet the guidelines, you get the trademark certificate from the registration authority. It can take up to 6 months in India to get a trademark logo.

Final Words

Logo trademarking increases email security and enhances the overall look and feel of the emails by making them stand out from other emails. Moreover, a trademark logo acts like a brand identity which is important for a business to get identified in the crowd.

Boost your email engagement rate and email deliveries with Common Mark Certificate and Verified Mark Certificate.