Trade marks function to ensure that the origin of goods and services are known by consumers and other interested parties. Brands, on the other hand, deliver your product or service promise encompassing your personality, emotions and principles.

This guide’s focus is on how to create, use and protect a strong brand. It explores which intellectual property (IP) and other rights are involved and how they can be used together for this purpose.

Chapter 1 explains why having a strong brand is important and why brands are valuable. It also looks at what makes a brand successful, the characteristics a strong brand typically possesses, and how branding strategy and the overall business strategy should be interlinked.

Chapter 2 provides practical guidance on how a strong basic brand identity is created including how to choose a distinctive name and what other aspects are required to build value in the brand proposition. It also addresses how you can tell whether your efforts are paying off.

Chapter 3 aims to help you determine which elements within your brand can be registered and which ones should be prioritised. It also looks at a broader range of assets which go beyond IP rights such as the domains you should obtain, and how your registered rights can provide a framework that supports your other assets and brand characteristics such as your brand values.

Finally, Chapter 4 sets out steps to defend your brand and ensure that it remains distinctive in the marketplace.