How Do You Trademark Your Food Brand

Has your company come up with a unique food brand? If so, you may want to protect it from being used by competitors. You may want to trademark the dish. But, can food be trademarked? The answer is no.

Trademarks are brand identifiers. Names, logos, symbols, and phrases can all be considered trademarks. For example, McDonalds or Nestle are trademarks. At times, trademark protection also extends to the product shape, packaging shape, design, color, etc. While a food item cannot be trademarked, branding of the food item qualifies for trademark protection. For example, Oreo and Big Mac are registered trademarks of their respective brands.

If you have a unique dish, you may want to give it a name or brand it to make it distinctive and prevent infringement of your idea. Here is a brief guide on how you can trademark your food brand.

Brand It

The first step to trademarking it is to give the food item a name. Make sure to give it a unique name as trademark registration doesn’t extend to clearly descriptive and generic names. For example, if your product is a chocolate chip cookie, you cannot name it "the chocolate chip cookie". It must not be generic or directly describing the product. Original and distinctive names are highly regarded for trademark protection. Apart from this, arbitrary or suggestive names, like Chips Ahoy, that are unrelated or not directly descriptive of the product may also be registered as trademarks. Pick something original or unique for your food item.

Run A Trademark Search

People and businesses filing for registration often encounter the confusingly similar trademark issue. If your trademark is similar to that of another, it may not qualify for registration. A trademark search may be used to identify potentially confusing marks prior to the filing of a trademark application.  Once you come up with a name, use search tools made available by CIPO and internet searches to help create your unique name. You may seek the guidance of a trademark agent in creating a unique trademark.

File For Trademark Registration

Once you have the branding in place, you can proceed to prepare and file an application. Trademark application requires you to fill in details like – your name and address, the name and design of the trademark, a statement stating use in Canada, and the goods associated with the mark. For proposed use application, you can file a statement of intent to use. If your food brand has some unique fonts, shape, or colors, you need to depict them with drawings. All this must be done in compliance with regulations.

Once you file an application, you need to go through the trademark registration process to achieve federal protection. You may benefit from the assistance of professional guidance during the trademark process and may want to consult with a registered trademark agent to assist in obtaining a registered trademark for your food brand.