Asian trademarks in a globalised world

Brands from emerging economies do not have the luxury today of taking decades to establish an international reputation, said panelists during the International Trademark Association's (INTA's) 136th annual meeting, it was reported in a newsletter published by IP Mirror, a domain name registry which also offers cloud hosting services and brand protection.

Source: INTA website.

According to IP Mirror, some of the suggested options for Asian brands focused on global expansion that were discussed at the event in early May in Hong Kong include:

• Adapting localised products for the international market while maintaining trademarks in the new markets.
• Spending more time and money on establishing what the brands represent, as most Asian brand names are likely unheard of, so paying attention to how the mark is presented and what message it invokes is just as important as what name is being registered.
• Buying overseas trademarks to gain access to new channels to market to foreign shoppers, or bringing those brands back home to local consumers seeking established overseas brands. 

"As with any expansion, getting the appropriate localised or regionalised domain names help to secure your online brand in the respective markets," said the company in the newsletter.

INTA separately announced that wage premiums in industries with intensive intellectual property rights (IPR) are significantly higher when compared with other industries: 41% in the European Union* and 42% in the US**.

"Innovation supports millions of jobs worldwide… but only when it is protected by IP rights,” said INTA President Mei-lan Stark (Fox Entertainment Group, US). “Today, the most successful economies, fuelled by the most highly paid workforces, are those in which innovation is encouraged and IP rights are protected.”

INTA coverage on World Intellectual Property Review can be viewed here. New Legal Review did an INTA 2014 roundup here.

*Intellectual property rights intensive industries: contribution to economic performance and employment in the European Union published by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the European Patent Office in 2013.

**IP and the US economy – industries in focus published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2012. published by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the European Patent Office in 2013.