Over the years, we aided companies with quality certificates, licensing, contracting, tender submissions, etc… This is carried out through NBN, Dynatom, or one of our associates.

New addition to the services of legal nature NBN provides, is Trademark Registration in select countries in Asia and Europe.

The following are a few examples of why you may want to register your trademark:

1. You have the exclusive right to use the trademark for ten (10) years;
2. The trademark is renewable every ten (10) years;
3. Once registered, your trademark prohibits third parties from using, reproducing or duplicating your brand;
4. Protection is extended to prohibiting third parties from using any branding that is similar to your registered trademark;
5. Affixing the ® informs third parties of your registered trademark;
6. Trademarks are often pre-requisites to render commerce, for example:
   • importing and exporting;
   • establishing distribution networks;
   • franchising; and
   • granting of trademark licenses against payment of royalties received from business partners or your affiliates.

As a final point, registered trademarks may be considered an asset as they contribute to the promotion and notoriety of your company.  Trademark registration is often a prerequisite for any operations to open up capital to Venture Capitalists, Investments Funds and IPO’s.

Important things to consider when registering your Trademark

Generally speaking, when registering your trademark, the principle of “first to register, first-served” applies.  This means that priority of registration of similar trademarks will only be granted to those entities whose trademark is registered before others.

Trademarks that are not registered will not be recognised by any right or claim that may arise from prior use.

A previous filing in another country is not recognised unless such filing is made within a country whom is a signatory to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks of 1891.

Certain trademarks may be considered “notorious trademarks” and will generally be prohibited.

Should a third party register your trademark before you register it, that third party will have the exclusive right to use your brand, thus depriving you of the use of this trademark within the country concerned.

There is the possibility to appeal trademark registrations, but this procedure is uncertain, lengthy and can be costly.

Why do we offer this service?

At NBN, we believe that your brand’s protection is the first step to consider when you go global in emerging markets. We offer a list of legal services to assist your expansion at the most competitive pricing in the market.

How do we achieve this?

We partner with well-known law firms in each country we serve our members because proximity is power and more competitive! The list of countries will expand monthly.