Trademarking Confectionery Brands: Things that Matters the Most
The UAE is a lucrative but competitive market for confectioners. Due to the intense competition, the brands even fight over minute elements of packaging or design. This means confectionery brands are willing to go to any lengths to protect their IP rights for which performing trademark registration in the UAE is critical. The assistance of trademark agents in Dubai will come in handy for confectioners to ensure enhanced IP protection.
However, there are certain specific elements of the UAE trademark registration process that the confectioners should be aware of. This blog aims to educate the confectioners on the standard procedures and other aspects of IP protection in the UAE. Read on.
Packaging and three-dimensional trademarks
For confectioners, it is important to protect the shape of their products or packaging as 3D trademarks. In the UAE, the shape of a product comes within the definition of a trademark. Therefore, confectioners can protect the ornamental or aesthetic nature of their product by registering the shape as a trademark in the UAE.
The shape of a product is of significant value to a confectionary business, and it is advisable to perform trademark registration in the UAE for products that have a commercially significant shape. The brand owners should also make efforts to enforce such registered rights against possible infringers. A 3 D trademark can receive IP protection just like any other trademark and can be secured by filing a normal trademark application.
Protecting Unique Slogans
Brands often find it difficult to secure trademark protection for their slogans in common law countries. The EU and US IP authorities refuse requests citing that a slogan is either is purely descriptive of the products or services it promotes or lacks distinctiveness. However, registering a slogan as a trademark is not tough in the UAE or any other trademark office in the MENA region.
To get IP protection in the UAE, the slogan should not be explicitly descriptive of the products involved. In the MENA region, most often, brand owners are not even asked to prove that the slogan in question has acquired secondary meaning. Consult with trademark agents in Dubai to further understand the nuances of trademarking a slogan.
IP Protection for Colour in Packaging
Colours have been granted trademark protection in the UAE when used in specific, limited contexts such as packaging or marketing. In April of 2007, the UAE trademark office granted trademark protection for a particular shade of orange used on the packaging of a rice product. Confectionary brands can register single colours that appear on packaging as trademarks in the UAE. Unlike, other types of products, colours are paramount for confectionary companies for branding.
Unique & Distinctive Brand Name
A distinctive brand name and logo ensure strong protection for confectionary trademarks registered in the UAE. If the name is descriptive or generic the UAE Trademark Office May refuse registration. Descriptive trademarks are terms that directly describe the quality, feature or result of the product. For example, ‘sugary sweet’ is a descriptive trademark for a candy product that may be refused trademark registration in the UAE. Follow the examples of XEROX, Dubizzle or Google which are strong trademarks making use of coined or fanciful words.
Classification of Trademarks
The UAE follows the 10th edition of the Nice Classification of trademarks. The NICE Classification List categorises trademarks into 45 classes of goods and services. The brand owners should take care to file their trademarks under relevant classes. Confectionary products can be filed under the primary Class 30 in the NICE Classification list.
According to WIPO, Class 30 includes mainly foodstuffs of plant origin, except fruits and vegetables, prepared or preserved for consumption, as well as auxiliaries intended for the improvement of the flavour of food.
Apart from the primary class, confectionary brands can be registered under relevant coordinated classes. Filing under multiple classes is essential to avoid infringement by competitors. The UAE doesn’t follow a multi-class filing system and therefore the separate filing is required for each class. Consult with trademark agents in Dubai to know more about the coordinated classes.
How Can Jitendra Intellectual Property Help You?
Performing trademark registration in the UAE is essential for confectionary brands given the highly competitive nature of the market. The market is flooded with both big and small brands that engage in intense battle to gain upper hand. Since a competitive market is prone to risks of infringement and counterfeit, confectionary businesses need the help of trademark agents in Dubai such as Jitendra Intellectual Property (JIP) to build a safety net for their brands.
JIP is a full-fledged IP firm in Dubai that has a strong presence across the UAE and other GCC countries such as Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. JIP provides robust trademark services including trademark search, trademark watch, trademark registration and assistance in dealing with trademark opposition. Consult with JIP today to enjoy trademark protection across the Middle East region.