That is why the first step in defining the trademark character starts from the registration of the trademark. At the same time as a consequence, Without a trademark the trademark is vulnerable! Another axiom of the brand makes the absolutely necessary distinction between brand and brand. Without this necessary differentiation, serious mistakes can be made in approaching branding strategies.
Brand is NOT Trademark!
Brandul este înainte de toate un concept valoric identitar ce îşi are originea în prestigiu pe care o marcă îl are în rândul consumatorilor. Brandul înglobează marca, în jurul căreia se clădeşte întregul proces de branding. Brandul este, din punctul de vedere al consumatorului, suma tuturor calităţilor şi o exprimare emoţionlă a aşteptărilor cu care el creditează marca. Atunci cand alegi un produs, dintr-o multitudine de alte opţiuni, o faci pentru că ai încredere în calităţile şi satisfacţiile pe care produsul respectiv le oferă față de aștepările tale.
Brand = Trust
Can there be identical (to the point of confusion) products with different brands? Surprisingly, the answer is yes! Shaving blades, for example, are (in terms of shape, use, technical characteristics and use value) similar to confusing. The brand being the only form of differentiation. The reciprocal is not valid, the brand having a unique character! That is why I will repeat myself:
Trademark = Value GUARANTEE! (certified)
Without this registration, the entire branding process is subject to major risks. An example of this is very suggestive of the risks to which a company is exposed by not registering the trademark. Example. A case famous for its implications is that of a well-known importer of slimming tea whose products are still found today in all supermarkets and pharmacies in Romania. After a period in which he was the only importer of anti-fat tea, he understood that the trademarks used must be registered with OSIM in order to avoid potential conflicts that were foreshadowing at that time. But the SOIT (OSIM in Romanian) bureaucracy, from those early days, to the Romanian private companies, the lack of experience of the Romanian entrepreneur and last but not least the fact that it could not provide documents of origin attesting the registration of trademarks in the country of origin (China), led to a continuous postponement of the registration of trademarks. At that time one of the employees was a "step forward", and taking advantage of some gaps in trademark law but also the relationships he had obtained (in record time) the registration of all trademarks that our hero sells. . Without having the slightest suspicion of what is happening, he receives one day a summons from an important law firm asking him to stop all products from being sold and to stop importing them, or to pay a the amount of the license that would allow it to continue its commercial activities for those products, registered as a trademark by one of the clients of the law firm it represents. Years and a lot of lawsuits have passed, some won, others still in progress (which is why I do not name any party involved). Meanwhile, proving the brand's notoriety, things began to be clarified. During this period, money was lost, which will never be able to be recovered, and the brand's credibility was seriously affected.
Where is the trademark registered?
In Romania, ensuring the protection in the field of industrial property is achieved by:
SOIT (OSIM in Romanian) - State Office for Inventions and Trademarks