Putting up a business requires a lot of dedication and hard work, not to mention considerable amounts of money for capital. For this reason, you must do everything you can to ensure that you reap the rewards of all your efforts in the end. One way to do this is to register a trademark, which will preserve your rights to your creative work. “Once registered, no person or enterprise other than its proprietor or authorised users may use them.” – Official Malaysia’s Trade and Industry Portal. This means that there will be legal implications in the event of infringement.
But what happens in case your IP rights are violated?
You may seek a court’s order to stop another entity from using your logo, emblem, or brand name for its own personal gain. Judges will, however, need to assess the situation in order to determine whether they will grant the injunction or not. They must first consider the likelihood of the lawsuit’s success, and whether the plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm or not. However, the complainant must prove that damages are beyond repair.
Monetary compensation may not always be the major concern for filing a lawsuit. In fact, in some cases, the federal court may order an injunction without requiring any payment for the damages incurred by plaintiff. This is especially true if the defendant have used the mark without any deliberate attempt to cause any violation. Nevertheless, remuneration may be granted under principles of fair trading. This includes the profit gained by the accused as well as the reimbursement for the cost of the legal actions taken by the complainant. However, the tribunal has the right to demand for a sum that it finds to be fair for both parties if the amount of recovery for profits is inadequate or excessive.
But in order to be able to have a higher chance of succeeding in the lawsuit, you must ensure that you have used the proper form of notice indicating your rights on a certain mark or logo. This is where IP registration comes in handy. So if you need help with registering your trademark, then you should contact CiMAGE Sdn Bhd right away!
