Most successful businesses have unique slogans which are very popular with people, whether it be Surf’s ‘Daag Acche Hain’, or Thums Up’s ‘Taste The Thunder’. These slogans stick in the minds of the public, becoming the identity of the brand. As such, you may also consider trademarking a slogan for your business at some point in time. But what you need to know is that there are some slogans for which you may not be granted a trademark. Below, we look at five such types of slogans.
Descriptive Slogans
Slogans which describe the product or service that you offer are not given trademarks. For example, if you run a clothing business where dresses are made purely from cotton, then you cannot trademark a slogan like ‘Made from pure cotton’ or something similar since it is a statement that describes the product. And because there are other businesses that also offer such goods, giving a single company the right to trademark such descriptive slogans is seen as unfair, and therefore never encouraged.
Motivational Slogans
Slogans deemed as being motivational in nature are less likely to be granted a trademark since they are considered generic in nature and not representative of any specific product or service. For example, you have low chances of getting a trademark for slogans like ‘Be the best’ or ‘Achieve your dreams’.
Value Slogans
Value slogans are those which reflect the vision of a particular business. For example ‘We make our customer happy’ is a value slogan describing what the business philosophy is regarding the treatment of its customers. Note that this same statement is applicable to almost all types of businesses. As such, it won’t be considered distinctive enough to be awarded a trademark.
Promotional Slogans
Slogans which are construed to act as promotional messages will also be denied a trademark. For example, suppose you run a clothing store and you wish to offer 20% discount to customers in order to separate yourself from the competition. If you come up with a slogan like ‘we give the biggest discounts’ in order to promote the business, then that slogan will not be given a trademark.
End User Benefit Slogans
All types of slogans which highlights the benefits received by the user of the product or service are also less likely to be granted a trademark. For example, for a business that manufactures slippers, a slogan like ’walk comfortably’ describes the general benefit the user receives by using the product. But the same benefit may be received from using other slipper brands too.
Once you make sure that your slogan does not belong to any of the above types, you can confidently go ahead and do a trademark registration & filing online. And if you have made the slogan clearly distinct from others, you should have no problem in receiving a trademark for it. Just make sure that your slogan truly reflects the attitude and identity of your business.
