Company Taglines Can Be Registered as Trademarks

Who doesn’t know the tagline “Trust Me iT Works”? Yes, this branding sentence belonging to the company PT Nutrifood Indonesia with L-Men milk products is indeed quite famous in the community. Currently, there are many companies in Indonesia that use taglines to promote their products and services. How not, this tagline is not just a slogan, but also an identity and characteristic to convey the uniqueness of products and services to consumers directly. In fact, many consumers will more easily memorize products and services through attractive taglines than the company name itself. But what you need to know is, this tagline also needs to be protected legally. Specifically, taglines are protected by trademark protection in Indonesia, as reported by the Intellectual Property Database (PDKI). So, what exactly is a tagline? And what are the requirements for a tagline that can be registered as a trademark? For more details, see the full explanation in the following article.

What is a Tagline?

In business, a tagline can be defined as a phrase that communicates the message of a brand in a concise, catchy, and memorable manner. Often, a tagline comes along with a product logo and is used to distinguish the product being marketed from products from other companies. Tagline is a set of words that can describe a brand so that consumers who read it can recognize and remember the brand. Generally, a tagline is implemented through short words that are able to run a business precisely and quickly.

So in simple terms, a tagline can be said to be a short expression that is easy to remember and is used by a company to market its products so that people will more easily recognize the product.

Tagline Characteristics

In general, there are several characteristics inherent in taglines, including:

Tagline as a representative of a brand or brand that is used as a differentiator with other brands or brands
As a phrase, a tagline is usually very short, concise, and memorable. This is because its main purpose is to convey the vision and mission of a product in text form.
Generally, taglines are three words long and no more than eight words. This means that the tagline should be concise, clear, and concise.
The tagline should be memorable, so that consumers can easily associate the product with the brand.

Taglines that can be registered as Trademarks

To determine whether a tagline can be protected by a trademark, it is first necessary to see whether the tagline in question has fulfilled the elements of the definition of a trademark as in Article 1 number 1 of Law No. 20 Year 2016 or not. In this case, the article explains that a trademark is a sign that can be displayed graphically in the form of images, logos, names, words, letters, numbers, color arrangements, in two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional form, sound, holograms, or a combination of two or more of these elements to distinguish goods and/or services produced by persons or legal entities in trade activities and/or services. Furthermore, to determine whether a tagline can be registered as a trademark or not, there are three parameters that can be used as a reference, including:

Not registered by an applicant who does not act in good faith

In accordance with Article 21 of the Trademark Law, an applicant who is not in good faith is an applicant who is reasonably suspected in registering his trademark has the intention to:

Imitating, plagiarizing, or following another party’s brand for the benefit of its business;
Give rise to conditions of unfair business competition; and/or
Deceive or mislead consumers.

Does not fulfill the elements of an unregistrable mark

According to Article 20 of the Trademark Law, unregistered marks are marks that have substance:

Contrary to state ideology, laws and regulations, morality, religion, decency, or public order;
Similar to, related to, or merely mentioning the goods and/or services for which registration is sought;
Contains elements that can mislead the public about the origin, quality, type, size, variety, purpose of use of the goods and/or services for which registration is requested or is the name of a protected plant variety for similar goods and/or services;
Containing information that is not in accordance with the quality, benefits, or efficacy of the goods and/or services produced;
Does not have differentiating power; and/or
Is a common name and/or symbol of public property.

Does not fulfill the elements of a repudiable mark

According to Article 21 of the Trademark Law, a mark that can be refused is a mark that has substance:

The trademark is substantially or entirely similar to other registered trademarks;
Represents or resembles the name or abbreviation of a famous person, photograph, or the name of a legal entity owned by another person, except with the written consent of the rightful owner;
Represents or resembles the name or abbreviation of the name, flag, emblem or symbol or emblem of a country, or national or international institution, except with the written consent of the authorized party;
Is an imitation or resembles a sign or stamp or official seal used by the state or government agency, except with written approval from the authorized party; or
Filed by an applicant with bad faith.

What is the Importance of Providing Tagline Protection as a Brand?

Currently, there are many companies in Indonesia that protect their product or service taglines using the trademark protection regime. Not only L-Men, some well-known brands in Indonesia, such as Nike with the tagline “Just Do It” or Chitato “Life is Never Flat” are also known to have protected their taglines using brand protection. Such brand protection is very important for the Company as it can help maintain brand identity and image in a competitive market. In addition, there are actually several advantages in a trademark protection which is also known to be a factor behind the rampant registration of taglines in this intellectual property regime. Some of these advantages include:

Obtaining Exclusive Rights to the Use of Trademarks

The Trademark Law grants exclusive rights to trademark owners who register their trademarks to be able to use or utilize their trademarks and give permission to others to use their trademarks. This exclusive right is granted for a period of ten years and can be extended for another ten years.

Protecting against Piracy

For the existence of these exclusive rights, there is also a right for trademark owners who have registered their trademarks to sue or report parties who are known to use their trademarks without permission. This right can be in the form of civil, namely the right to cancel a trademark, request compensation, and / or request the termination of all activities related to the trademark used without permission to the criminal, namely reporting on the use of trademarks without rights. In addition, with the registration of a trademark, it can also prevent other parties to register similar in the PDKI system. Because, in a trademark can be done substantive examination, where a trademark that is about to be registered will be checked first similarity / similarity with the trademarks that have been registered and still valid. If it is known that the trademark has similarities/similarities with registered trademarks, it will potentially be rejected for registration by the DJKI.

Avoiding Future Disputes

As is known, trademark protection in Indonesia adheres to the first to file system. This system means that the trademark owner who first applies for registration will be entitled to the protection of the trademark.

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Therefore, by registering a trademark, it can prevent the trademark to get ‘attack’ disputes from other parties who may feel the trademark is harmed.

KH Contact

This is the explanation about taglines on company brands. Remember that taglines are also long-term investments that can be given protection as brands. Registering a tagline is important because it provides legal protection, prevents piracy, avoids disputes, increases business value, and becomes proof of ownership in a dispute. Let’s register your brand tagline as a trademark before someone else registers it! Trademark registration becomes easier with the help of Legal Contract. It must be safe and easy because of the prior analysis process with competent and officially registered IPR consultants, so it is guaranteed to be auto accepted by the DJKI. For ordering information, visit the KH Services – Trademark page. If you have questions about other business needs, please consult for free at Ask KH or send a direct message (DM) to Instagram @kontrakhukum.