Selecting a brand name - tips and considerations

Choosing the right brand name, is likely to have a significant impact on the growth and success of your business. Ideally, you will want your brand name to differentiate your business and its goods and/or services from those of other traders and to stand out and be memorable to consumers. Also, it will be important to choose a brand name that is registrable as a trade mark in your markets of interest.

Some tips are as follows:

- Make your brand name distinctive for your goods/services of interest. The more distinctive your brand name is (e.g. inventive, unique, unusual), the easier it should be to register.

- Avoid descriptive terms for the products and services you are offering, where possible. For example, the plain word NUTTY for a hazelnut butter could not be registered in the UK because it describes a characteristic of the product.

- Avoid common terms in use in general language and in your trade and laudatory terms such as BEST, PREMIUM, QUALITY. These types of words are not registrable/protectable.

- Avoid using a brand name that could create confusion as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of your goods or services.

- Choose a brand name that is suitable for all of your markets of interest i.e. it doesn't have an adverse/undesirable meaning in foreign languages.

- Think about long term strategy and whether your brand name and/or logo will be suitable if your business expands into other product or service areas.

- Don't choose a brand name or logo that is identical or similar to another trader's name/logo (searches should ideally be made prior to use and filing of a trade mark to check whether your proposed mark is available to use and register).

If you have any questions or need any help with a proposed brand name or logo, please get in touch at email@trademarktonic.com