Intangible assets, such as the corporate identity and corporate design of a company are among the most valuable components of a company. Therefore the Corporate Design should be protected at an early stage to prevent copies and similar brand appearances of your competitors. Often, the brand and the corporate design are associated with a high degree of awareness and a large market potential. In this article you will learn how to protect your Corporate Design in time to prevent attacks of the competition on your brand.
What is meant by corporate design or corporate identity?
In Germany, corporate identity stands for the personality of a company. The individual appearance of a company consists of the actions (Corporate Behavior), the external appearance or the visual design elements (Corporate Design) and the statements (Corporate Communication). The main component of a successful corporate design are the logo, the colours, forms and the design of the buildings.
Registration of the company as a first step to protect the corporate identity
Anyone who founds a company must have their company entered in the commercial register. The company name depends on the chosen form of company. Depending on the legal form, the company name must include the names of the shareholders and the purpose of the company. Fantasy names are only permitted if the company is founded as an AG, GmbH or cooperative. To avoid confusion, you should check in advance whether similar company names have already been entered in the commercial register. However, the registration of the company name in the commercial register provides only very limited protection, which is why an additional registration of a trademark is recommended.
How to protect your corporate identity and corporate design by registering a trademark
A trademark is a designation for products and services in order to distinguish them from products of competitors. In principle, any graphically representable sign can be registered as a trademark. Especially words, combinations of letters and numbers, or logos can be protected as trademarks. Every trademark must be entered in the register of the German Patent and Trademark Office. By registration, the owner of the trademark obtains the exclusive Lawto use the trademark. If a competitor uses the trademark or other protected elements of the corporate design, this constitutes a trademark infringement. Intentional trademark infringement can lead to fines and in serious cases to imprisonment. The registration of the trademark results in several Advantages for a company. In addition to protecting against unauthorized copies, a brand also increases the value of the company in the public eye.
Can advertising material also be protected?
Logos and company names can be protected by the Trademark and Patent Office and by registration in the Commercial Register. But what about the brochures and catalogues that a company has produced? These advertising materials make a decisive contribution to the external image of a company. They are therefore particularly exposed to the danger of quick and unauthorized copies. In most cases, brochures or catalogues are created with specific graphic and creative arrangements. Creative and artistic achievements can be protected by copyright law. The decisive factor, however, is that they must have an individual character. Price lists or forms usually do not have an original idea and therefore cannot be protected. In contrast to the registration of a trademark, copyright protection arises already with the creation of the corresponding corporate design. Advertising material and texts do not have to be entered in a register, nor is the frequently used copyright symbol necessary for copyright protection.
