A trademark, is a unique symbol or sign that can be used by a person or an organization to uniquely identify its services and products. Trademarks should be unique and should not replicate any other existing trademark. A registered trademark is that trademark which has been registered with the appropriate trademark office in a particular jurisdiction. It is not a legal obligation for a trademark to be registered. Some of the trademarks are not registered with the appropriate legal office. Registering a trademark has some advantages. They include a notification to the general public about the right of ownership of the trademark, exclusive rights to the use of the mark and a legal conjecture of ownership nationally. Various countries and states have different legal frameworks and guidelines that determine to what extent a trademark is considered legally owned. Trademark infringement is considered a serious crime in most jurisdictions and the Continue reading
International Business Basics
Difference between Trademark and Trade Secret?
A trademark is one of the most valuable components of a company’s functioning, which can provide it with a significant competitive advantage. Trademarks are a method of protecting symbols that are proprietary to a company. Hence, it consists in confidential information that describes the processes or things that characterize the organization. It can be a phrase, a slogan, a symbol, or a mixture of these aspects. To qualify for a trademark, the information must correspond to specific points. It must have commercial value for the company, must be known to a limited number of people, and fall under such documents as consent to conceal data for the persons by whom it is used. The 3M logo is an example of a trade mark. The red or black combination, the font, the fact the curves of the “3” lay tangent to the “M” are is something that is universally recognized by a Continue reading
Intellectual Property – Meaning and Definition
Intellectual property (IP) refers to the creations of the mind such as inventions, artistic and literary works, symbols, designs, names, and images that are used in commerce. IP is protected by law through patents, trademarks, and copyrights which enable people to earn recognition or derive financial gains from what they have created. By striking a balance between the interests of the inventors and the general public, the IP system aims to create an environment where creativity and innovation can flourish. Copyright is the term that is applied to describe the rights of the creators over their artistic and literary works. It covers items such as books, music, films, sculptures, computer programs, paintings, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings. The patent refers to the exclusive rights that are given to an invention. It gives the inventor the right to decide if their work can be used by others or not. Lastly, a Continue reading
Franchising – Definition, Types, Advantages and Disadvantages
Meaning and Definitions of Franchising In a sense, franchising is very much similar to branching. Franchising is a system for selectively distributing goods or services through outlets owned by the retailer or dealer. Basically, a franchise is a patent or trademark license, entitling the holder to market particular products or services under a brand name or trademark according the different terms and conditions. The origins of franchising as it is now defined can be clearly traced to one man: Isaac Singer. After the US Civil War in the 1860s, Singer had achieved the ability to mass-produce his famous sewing machines, but had no economically viable way of repairing and maintaining them across a country as geographically vast as the US. He began to license out servicing and repairs to local merchants around the country, who were later permitted to become regional salesmen for the machines too. Singer’s use of a Continue reading
Cultural Sensitivity is Crucial Factor in Company’s International Business Success
Due to progress in communication, transformation and technologies which have performed in development of world’s economy, people from different nations, cultures, languages and backgrounds are now communicating, meeting and doing business with each other more than ever. As there is increase in business activities between people from different nations, cultures, languages and backgrounds, companies who are operating internationally or which are going to be a global they have to concentrate on many factors to be a successful in international market. One of the significant factors among them is a culture. For the success of any business in variety of countries or regions it requires to have understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way business is practiced. The main determinants of culture are religion, political philosophy, economical philosophy, education, language, social structure etc. Businesses have to understand and match with all this cultural determinants, as Continue reading
International Marketing Communication – Key Issues and Challenges
When first starting-up an organization, launching a new product or service or simply reminding customers that the organization exists, firms need to educate consumers. This education comes in the form of marketing communication, which is otherwise known as promotion. Promotion is an organization’s articulation of messages it wants to send to target audiences to achieve business objectives. The promotion mix or integrated marketing communications (IMC) consists of advertising, sales promotion, trade shows, personal selling, direct selling and public relations. Without doubt, investment in one or more of these methods of communication will increase the firm’s costs, and for this investment to be a profitable one, the marketer must know the purpose of promotion. The Chartered Institute of Marketing claims that “the purpose of any form of marketing communication is to provide a set of information to your target audience in a way that encourages a positive, or buying, response. The Continue reading