Trademarking a Start-Up Brewing Company

[Steve0077]

Hi there

I'm new to this forum so apologies if this has been covered elsewhere or if I've put this in the wrong spot.

I'm presently considering starting up a brewing company but before I do anything I'd firstly like to trademark the company name and the initial product range (4 beers) until I can achieve any movement on it. The pennies are not overflowing at the mo so it would be great if I could do these trademark applications without the assistance of an attorney. So any feedback on the following concerns would be most welcome!:

1) Firstly, I want to initially obtain a CTM for the company name (no logo just the name), but am unsure whether to put my own name down as the applicant, or use the company name itself. The company name will initially be registered to my home address as a dormant company

2) Looking through the databases I also noticed that most worded trade marks are written all in capital letters. Is there a reason for this?

3) I'm also debating about the classes I should put on the application as a CTM allows you 3 classes before incurring extra charges. So for a brewing company Class 32 is clearly necessary but then I was wondering about possible future needs if things go well like merchandising (e.g. certain clothing). So possibly 35 too? But then what about things like beer glasses, bottle openers etc too!!

At the end of the day is it actually better to just keep things simple and stick to just Class 32 even though I can add more?

4) I'm also unsure as to the detail needed in the description of goods or services. Should I include things like porter, stout, lager etc because these are some of the suggested terms associated with 'beer' that come up when you go through the online application ? Or will 'beer' simply suffice?

Maybe I'm wrong but the impression I've got is that a broad term like 'beer' may suffice for most countries apart from the US who are far more particular and picky about trade mark applications.

Apologies for going on a bit but I thought I'd put it all down instead of doing it in dribs and drabs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers
Steve

 

[Trademarkroom]

Hi Steve- that's a lot of questions!

1. individual v company ownership- take a look at this article we wrote! ( ownership can always been quite easily transferred for a small fee) http://www.trademarkroom.com/who-should-own-my-trademark-individual-or-company/

2. you should file the trademark as you will use it. In the UK you can file a series mark- ie 2 marks for the same price with nominal difference i.e. lower and upper case but this is not possible with a CTM. If someone used your trademark in captials and you used lower case they would still be infringing your mark.

3. You do get 3 classes for the same price so best to think ahead 'future proofing'. Class 35 is the retail class and only needed if selling the branded products of others. Merchandise is the likes of clothing which would be 25. Beer will be in class 32. If you go over 3 it's 150 euro per extra class. Still cheaper than filing a new application however. Remember that you should intend to use the mark for those goods and services claimed within 5 years. Also the actual brewing of beer is in class 40 as it is a service that you might be offering. Beer glasses, bottle openers fall under class 21- so it all adds up!

4. i'd put put beer and brewery products and then list the other beer type drinks that you mentioned. No harm in doing this. Other alcoholic beverages will fall in class 33

If you have any specific questions- please feel free to get in touch. [email protected]

 

[Steve0077]

Hi Jane

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply and for your advice. I'll have a think about the issues you addressed and will be in touch when I can sit down and go through it properly.

Thanks again

Kind regards
Steve