Difference Between Brand and Trademark

About the difference between Brand and Trademark

Customers prefer branded products as they are more trustworthy and convenient. A branded product is a sign that the product you are purchasing is authentic and has high quality. This brand name is the reason that more and more customers thrive for the company. But in today’s competitive world, everyone wants to outperform and dominate this growing industry. So some aspirants try to duplicate products by copying brand names to get successful in a short period.

This fraud is getting common in today’s marketing world. To prevent such fake business products and avoid duplicity, a trademark is developed to track these fake products. Let’s dig deep and differentiate trademarks and brands to understand things more clearly because they are often used interchangeably. 

Read More: What is the Trademark law in India?

What is Brand

The brand is a particular name or term used by a particular company for its manufactured products. A brand is an overall image or name of a company’s products and services used to inspire customers. It’s used to create a favorable environment for brands in terms of images and feeling inside the market. A brand highlights many different elements like culture, identity, personality, picture, and reputation of its owner or company. A Brand name usually differentiates the products of one company from that of its type.

A company or a corporation develops items and later these items get names and those names are termed brand names. But brand names get difficult to understand as the name has significant relevance. So while selecting the name of a brand, you need to keep many factors in view like the design or style of the brand name. Selecting a brand name is a complicated process, before going for a brand name, a company should focus on its products and establish the brand in the market. 

Having a brand name does not mean a company can save its products from getting used by other companies without its permission. A brand can only supply its products but it can not protect from illegal usage of products and services. The brand name can only make its place in the market after several years of experience and operating a business under a brand name which later becomes a common word in the marketplace.

what is Trademark

A trademark is a mark in the form of a sign, symbol, pattern, or name that is used by an entrepreneur to differentiate its goods and services from those of others. A trademark is used in the business to signify the origin of any product. The ® symbol on a product indicates that the company is using a registered trademark.

The ™ symbol is another form of the trademark but it indicates an unregistered trademark. So the difference between these two types of trademark is that a registered trademark is covered under trademark law while an unregistered trademark does not come under any law. 

Difference between Brand and Trademark

The brand is a particular name or term used by a particular company for its manufactured products. This particular name is assigned by the owners to distinguish their products from the rest of its kind. In comparison to this trademark is a legal symbol, sign, or phrase used to protect these particular names. Brand helps in identifying items as well as companies in the market. The brand does not provide legal protection when products are used illegally while a trademark has been developed to provide legal protection against the illegal usage of products. 

• Trademarks and brands vary in terms of legal protection, a trademark protects legally while a brand is used for a company’s image. The brand is a combination of non-legal things but is very vast in comparison to a trademark. 

• A trademark is part of a brand and is very useful for building a brand while a brand is not a trademark alone.

• Trademark is of two types registered and nonregistered trademarks but a brand always includes a trademark that is registered.

• A brand uses unregistered slogans, graphics, and images while a trademark uses specific symbols, signs, or phrases that can be either registered or unregistered. 

• A trademark is tangible while a brand includes both tangible as well as tangible things. Like in the case of tangible, the brand includes trademarks, while it also includes intangible things like customers’ behavior regarding a product, the relationship between the company and customers, and store vibes.

• A brand is an image of a company representing things on a larger scale than a single graphic or phrase. while a trademark constitutes different kinds of marks like word, design, or sound marks used in the business. 

• Branding is more crucial than a trademark, with the help of a trademark a brand can easily get loyal customers but branding is the opposite of this. In branding, it’s crucial to get loyal customers and form a loyal base. 

Read More: How to Register Trademark in India?

Types of Brands and Trademark

Read More: How can I Register a Trademark Internationally?

Different Scope

Brand scope: Trademarks are not associated with all brands. The scope of the brand is very vast, customers associate with any brand name because of its brand scope. A brand takes care of the relationship between customers and business, hence views of customers matter. The scope of the brand is because of a loyal customer base and that is where the brand focuses. 

Trademark scope: All trademarks are associated with brands. The brand uses the trademark to protect its business and save its reputation from the hands of those who use business items without permission. The scope of a trademark is very broad when it comes to protection against illegal usage.

Different Association

Brand: A brand is associated with everything that a firm is about. Brands association is with the environment, purpose, or identity.

Trademark: Trademark association is with logos, patterns, symbols, packing, and much more. It acts like a protective shell when fake items try to mislead customers, it guides customers and helps them in choosing the right and quality product. 

Legal Differences

Brand: The brand does not have any legal identity, it’s just a name provided for a particular product and chosen by a business or any Corporation. The brand name gets recognition after many years with the help of different marketing and advertising campaigns. 

Trademark: A trademark has a legal identity, it protects a company and its illegal usage of products and services. Trademark registration has to follow rules and regulations. Government approval is needed for a trademark hence it’s a legal mark. 

Objectives

Brand: The objective of a brand is to attract buyers with the help of product identification. It also focuses on providing uniqueness to the brand and making it different from the rest of the industries.

Trademark: The objective of a trademark is to keep an eye on illegal users and provide protection in case of fraud, or duplication of the product. It puts a barrier to copying products. 

Conclusion

Understanding the difference between a trademark and a brand is important because there are many misconceptions regarding a trademark and a brand. Both trademark and brand are important for the survival of the business, without the presence of anyone, the business will struggle. If a business wants to succeed in the market and on the other hand wants to keep an eye on its competitors then one needs to focus on both sides. Understand the differences and succeed in building a successful business for yourself.

FAQ’s