Launch checklist - Protecting your brand in the space sector

I am often asked how businesses can protect their brand when it comes to launching in the ever-growing space sector. The checklist below, originally written for the Scottish Space Network, focuses on the steps you can take to ensure a smooth take off.

Trade marks are a form of intellectual property (IP) which provide legal protection for different elements of your branding. A trade mark registration confers an exclusive right to prevent others from using an identical or confusingly similar mark in respect of the same or similar goods and services. Like patents, they accumulate financial value, encourage investment, and can be sold, licensed, etc.

Trade marks should be considered at an early stage of your business venture – and certainly before you launch! Here I provide a checklist of essential trade mark considerations:

✅  Create your mark

To be registrable, your mark must be capable of distinguishing goods or services as originating from you. This means it cannot generally be descriptive, customary, laudatory, etc. Any brand which contains descriptive words such as SPACE, ORBIT, SATELLITE, SKY, COMMUNICATIONS, etc. will need to be combined with another distinctive word or logo, to be registrable.

Distinctiveness is a spectrum: the most distinctive marks are completely invented words or words which have absolutely no meaning in relation to the space sector – the least distinctive marks are allusive terms which can be difficult to protect and enforce. The more unique the mark, the broader the scope of enforceability conferred by registration.

✅  List your goods/services

What is at the core of your business? What goods are you selling? What services are you providing? What will your consumers be paying for?

Goods and services are categorised into different “Classes”, and a list needs carefully drafted before you file a trade mark application. It is crucial to cover the full range intended to be offered under the mark as it is not possible to expand the scope of an application once filed.

✅  Define your geographical area

Trade marks are territorial in scope, thus protection conferred by registration is limited to the territory in which the mark is registered. Owning a UK trade mark does not give you blanket worldwide protection.

While your products may be deployed and used in space, there are always connections to a specific territory on Earth. In particular, a space-based invention will be manufactured somewhere on earth, may cross national borders (import/export), be sold, be kept, and importantly, be advertised.

Where are your consumers located? Where are you based or likely to be based in the foreseeable future? Where are your competitors? Do you have distributors or partners?

The countries where those actions will take place are where you need to obtain trade mark protection.

✅  Conduct availability searches

Trade Mark registers can be visualised as constellations of an infinite number of marks. To avoid or reduce the risk of collision, it is good practice to conduct searches prior to using or registering a mark, to ensure that it is free to use and register. Conducting searches is likely to be cheaper and less disruptive than having to rebrand later down the line.

✅  Apply for registered protection

Obtaining a trade mark registration is the best form of legal protection for your brand. While unregistered rights are recognised in some territories, they can be complex, expensive to enforce, and do not arise immediately. When starting your business, it is preferable to secure registered trade mark protection.

✅  Ready to launch?

It is tempting to put off or defer decisions relating to IP as it can appear as a complex area of law, but it is important to take certain steps sooner rather than later. Early planning will allow you to get a handle on your budget, timescales, and to make sure your trade mark is free to use, registrable and enforceable.

If you have any questions regarding the checklist, please feel free to get in contact with me via jcanet@marks-clerk.com.

This checklist was first published on https://www.scottishspace.net/.