Key Trademark Registration Insights For Software Brands

When it comes to businesses based on innovation such as software development, patents and copyrights remain the most popular method of IP protection. If you look at software giants such as Adobe, you can see they give importance to trademark protection along with copyright and patent. If you are a software developer with business ambitions in the UAE, patents or copyright protection won’t suffice. You should protect your software brands through trademark registration in the UAE to steer clear of infringers that are rampant in cyberspace.

The majority of the software brands remain unregistered across the world. The prime reason for this is likely to be the lack of knowledge about trademark registration and wrong notions related to trademark registration costs. If cost is the reason, you will have to prepare yourself for colossal losses when an impersonator infringes on your brand. And if lack of knowledge is the reason why you are keeping from registering trademarks in the UAE, let this article be a prologue. Read ahead.

Software Brands: Copyright or Trademark?

Unlike popular belief, the ‘copyright Vs trademark’ comparison doesn’t make real sense, at least in the case of software brands. The developer can protect the software as a literary work through copyright. Copyright effectively provides legal protection for the software from plagiarism. Also, it is important to note that you cannot trademark software in the UAE or any part of the world. This is because a software program doesn’t function as a unique source identifier. Then how does a trademark come into the picture? The answer for that depends on what can be trademarked, and it is given in the following paragraphs.

What Aspects of Software can be Trademarked?

If you are a business engaged in software development, you can protect the name, logo or slogan through trademark registration in the UAE. The rule here is simple: any material that identifies you as the source of origin of a specific product or service can be trademarked in the UAE. For instance, “ADOBE” is a registered trademark for a variety of software products and services.

By registering your software’s brand name as a trademark, you can block a competitor from applying a confusingly similar name to a similar type of product or service. If you would like to protect your software’s brand name, slogan or logo, consult with the best trademark agents in Dubai to get the brand registration process started.

Why Trademarking a Software Brand Name is Crucial?

Before elaborating on this topic, let’s demonstrate the importance of a software brand’s trademark registration in the UAE through an example. Assume you have developed an app called ‘Slice of the Town’ that helps foodies find out the best places to get pizza in Dubai. Your focus wan on launching the app and finding potential investors. And you forgot to register a trademark in the UAE for the app.

However, later you find an app called ‘Slice on My City’ while searching online that provides the same services as yours. Such an app could create confusion among the users. However, since you have not filed the trademark application in the UAE, it would be tougher to move against the infringer. It would become more complicated when the competitor secures a trademark for the brand name before you do. A confusingly similar trademark can potentially hamper your brand reputation and eventually revenue.

Being one of the best trademark agents in Dubai, Jitendra Intellectual Property (JIP) advises software brands to register their brand name, logo and slogans right from inception. The legal reasons for performing trademark registration in the UAE are vital: it equips you with the power to take legal recourse when your IP rights come under attack. Apart from that, if someone is infringing your trademark in App Store or Playstore Apple and Google will come forward to protect your IP rights before you approach the court. However, this will happen only if the trademark is registered in the relevant jurisdictions.

The trademark registration process can be complicated, but an experienced trademark agent like JIP can work with you to ensure that your brand is being protected and that you’re the one who receives the benefit from them. We provide efficient services like trademark search, trademark monitoring, and trademark renewal. We also help you in filing the trademarks under appropriate trademark classes. In case, an opposition or dispute arises we would step in to ensure that your IP rights are restored without any damage to the brand reputation. When it comes to trademark registration in the UAE and other GCC countries, JIP is the name you can rely upon.