I've trademarked my name... here's why:

Here’s what I did first.

1.

I researched my options via the UK government website https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark which has a lot of information on. I’m no expert and didn’t just want to dive in. I was trying to determine what was right for me, be it copyright, trademarking or patents. I’m no legal expert and it can be quite a costly process if you don’t know what you are doing.

2.

I signed onto a free one to one session with an intellectual property clinic, organised through the government website : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-patlib-network/uk-patlib-contact-information 

In my hour-long session, I could ask the intellectual property representative a lot of questions, explore my options and understand better the do’s and don’ts. Of course there were no endorsements or recommendations of who to work with to help me pursue each avenue. But it put me in a much better place to consider my options.

Whilst you can submit an application yourself via the Government website here: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/start-your-application I felt that it was quite risky to submit without having the knowledge, expertise or know-how to be successful following submission and payment up front.

You can check online here: https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmtext to see if someone already owns a certain trademark, however it is often misleading as it may not recognise certain phrases, words or sayings as it automated. Also, if you search for a popular phrase it may come up with a long list to search through. To me it became a bit of a minefield and being so time poor, I wanted to reach out to an expert to hold my hand through the process.

Now you can type into a google search ‘Intellectual Property Legal advice’ and it will bring up a vast list of people to contact. You also need to bear in mind the countries in which you operate as you have to carry out an application for each country. 

Then there are all the different classes that you could register your trademark under. There are many! And some are of no relevance to your business whatsoever. 

Each class adds extra cost to the application and once registered will last 10 years. You can add extra classes onto the application at a later date but with extra costs associated with that process. 

So here’s what I did next:

3.

I posted a question into The Social Media Managers Hub Facebook group, of which I hold a professional membership too. I reached out to ‘my tribe’ and asked if anyone had any experience in Intellectual Property applications and if anyone had a personal recommendation they would share with me. One of the members came back to me very quickly with a brilliant recommendation of an attorney they had worked with and I followed up right away.

4.

I made an enquiry via email to the recommended Intellectual Property attorney who organised an initial call so I could outline my vision and what might suit my business now and in the future. We had to do a little bit of crystal ball gazing!! From the call and subsequent emails, I was filled with a lot more confidence that pursuing registration for my name would be the best way forward as I’d already established a strong profile and brand awareness.

5.

The application (via the attorney) was submitted and then it was a bit of a waiting game. Once your application is filled, it goes onto a public register to give anyone the opportunity to contest or object. This normally takes around 3 months, so it’s not a speedy process at all. It was fascinating to see what other applications were on the same register as mine. New names for shampoo, big brands adding to the different classes they needed – I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole!

6. 3 months passed and the waiting game was finally up. I heard back from my attorney that my trademark was successful. A few days later I received an electronic copy of the registration which will last for 10 years. As part of the trademark, once registered you have to prove that you use it, as apparently they can take it away if you don’t. 

So, on much of my future work, you’ll now see the symbol Milly Fyfe®

In short the main reason’s why I’ve secured my own trademark for my name is as follows:

- To protect my assets and brand identity

- To build on my reputation

- To uphold my professional image

- To ensure nobody rides off the back of me

- If I have any cause for concern, I have more of a legal footing to enforce my trademark.

If you want to know more about my journey into registering for intellectual property, drop me a line by emailing: hello@millyfyfe.com 

And please do share this piece with anyone who you think would find it of use.