Trademarks
A trademark is a sign or symbol that is used to distinguish a product or service from that produced or supplied by another business. It could be the design of a label or the shape of a product's packaging (for example, the Coca-Cola bottle). The term "sign" includes logos, slogans, words, colours and 3-D shapes.
Registering a trademark protects the owner from competitors also trying to use that image to promote their own products. Trademarks can be very valuable in keeping that product as a market leader.
In recent years (Trade Marks Act 1994) the application has been simplified and accelerated. This takes the needs of industry and commerce into account and has aligned the UK laws with other countries in the EU and elsewhere. Trademark registration can be held indefinitely, subject to renewal every 10 years.