"Strong 'n' Stables" TM Advice

M

Metagrobolized

Hi,

I'm asking on behalf of a friend who's thinking of changing careers and so looking to set herself up in business providing robust accommodation to the equine industry.

She intends to start out selling stables but is looking to the future and so will likely branch out to other types of buildings and wishes to ensure that her brand is maintained.

Initially she wishes to protect -
Strong 'n' Stables​

But may branch out into area such as -
Strong 'n' Conserva-tories
Strong 'n' Houses (of-commons)​

So the question is, would it make sense for my right honourable friend to register "Strong 'n' Stables" and rely on the protection given by the initial portion of the trademark then register the others when need be, or should she register "Strong 'n'" to try to cover them all with the one trademark, or would she have to preemptively register all that she feels she may branch out into?

The general question is serious btw. :)

Cheers,
Gavin
 
M

Metagrobolized

I'd probably go for Strong 'n' Stables in the first instance. Registering Strong 'n' wouldn't necessarily give her a monopoly in all variations of that mark, so she will probably want to apply for the other variations as she goes along.

Many thanks. I (sorry, she) was erring towards what you propose. So registering "Strong 'n' Stables" would give a similar level of protection, if not a monopoly, to the "Strong 'n'" portion, in comparison to registering just "Strong 'n'" do you think?
 
Upvote 0
M

Metagrobolized

Don't worry too much about anyone stealing the name - its terrible.

This is either an April Fool as suggested above, or a great example of someone trying to come up with a business to fit a clever name they thought of.

How dare you disrespect my friend's trademark creativity!?!?!?!?

In all honesty, a serious question, but so as not to divulge the trademark I'm interested in, thought I'd use this to both obfuscate and amuse myself.

If anyone wishes to register this, fill yer boots! You never know, it might be the next unicorn!
 
Upvote 0
M

Metagrobolized

Don't worry - I got you! The problem is that registering Strong 'n' wouldn't really adequately protect Strong 'n' Stables. So whilst it might be tempting to cut corners and rely on Strong 'n' alone, I wouldn't recommend it.

Cheers. Understand.

Whilst thinking through this I did mull over using ellipses, so have something like -

"Strong 'n' ..."

Interesting that when searching the TM database, there are no trademarks containing "..." which I'm surprised at. Guessing the tm search page just can't handle that type of search.
 
Upvote 0
C

ComPropSolicitor

Personally - I have doubts that you will be able to build a strong enough brand from the selling of house stables under the aforesaid name to then introduce a slightly different form of the aforesaid name into the highly competitive world of double glazing and conservatories and for anybody to know why or what you were doing before!

I would also question why there needs to be a link? Personally, I would have thought it would be better for any number of reasons to have different companies set up independently each time it does not matter that behind the scenes they are using the same design materials, however, if one of them struggles and goes under or is involved in a serious incident (it does happen) that seriously affects reputation then the rest of the associated companies are not necessarily affected.

Think - do other businesses do what you are proposing? Not really.
 
Upvote 0
M

Metagrobolized

Personally - I have doubts that you will be able to build a strong enough brand from the selling of house stables under the aforesaid name to then introduce a slightly different form of the aforesaid name into the highly competitive world of double glazing and conservatories and for anybody to know why or what you were doing before!

I would also question why there needs to be a link? Personally, I would have thought it would be better for any number of reasons to have different companies set up independently each time it does not matter that behind the scenes they are using the same design materials, however, if one of them struggles and goes under or is involved in a serious incident (it does happen) that seriously affects reputation then the rest of the associated companies are not necessarily affected.

Think - do other businesses do what you are proposing? Not really.

This is just an example rather than the actual business. The trademarks would be for a run of products under the same umbrella brand, rather than separate businesses.
 
Upvote 0

Latest Articles

Join UK Business Forums for free business advice