PROTECTING YOUR BRANDS WITH TRADEMARK WATCHING

PROTECTING YOUR BRANDS WITH TRADEMARK WATCHING

HOW VALUABLE ARE BRANDS?

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According to the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2010:

• Top 100 global brands = $2.04 Trillion in brand value.

• Consideration of brand in purchase decision has risen by 20% since 2005.

• Brands are even more valuable during economic downturns: Shares of the Top 100 have outperformed the S&P 500 by 30%.

(Source: BRANDZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2010)

Defend your mark…or risk becoming generic like these brands:

THE RISK OF BRAND VALUE EROSION

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• Aspirin• Butterscotch• Escalator• Kerosene• Phillips-head screw• Thermos• Yo-yo• Zipper

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• Protect brand rights• Prevent unauthorized use• Detect infringement• Defend or uphold reputation• Gain competitive intelligence• Mitigate risk

WHY WATCH YOUR BRANDS?

EXAMPLE: WALGREENS VS. WEGMANS

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• Wegmans introduced new mark with elements similar to Walgreens.

• Walgreens did not oppose new mark during opposition period.

• Contacted Walgreens 2 years later.

• Actively watching your brands can prevent a situation like this.

EXAMPLE: COMPETITIVE INGELLIGENCE

Use watching to develop a strategy to counter an importantmarket development.

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November 2011:

• Verizon Wireless files a new trademark for “Hologram”

• Could this indicate a new 3D smartphone in the works?

• Wouldn’t Sprint and AT&T want to know what information?

WATCHING HELPS BRAND OWNERS

• Respond quickly to potential threats– Discover potential infringements before

opposition deadline.

– Avoid losing trademark rights due to tardy/no reaction.

– Increased peace of mind, reduced risk.

• Enhances competitive stance– Deter others from filing similar trademarks in

the future.

– Keeps brand owners one step ahead of the competition.

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WATCHING HELPS ATTORNEYS & AGENTS

• Enhances your image: – Full service firm

– Competitive edge over firms that do notoffer watching

• Improves client retention:– Creates client contact opportunities

– Deepens business relationships

– Reinforces value

• Generates revenue – New opposition/litigation opportunities

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THE VALUE OF A WATCH PARTNER

• Frees you to focus on core business activities.– Spend your time on revenue-generating

activities.

• Increases chance of identifying important findings.– Requires specialized expertise and tools.

• Enhances peace of mind.– Puts brand protection in trusted, expert hands.

But how do you choose the right watch partner?

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Identify issues

Make decisions with

Advise clients with

WHY WATCH WITH US? FIVE REASONS

Data quality and accuracy

Intelligent watch strategies

Timely reporting

Streamlined analysis

Expert, personalized support

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QUICKLY

CERTAINTY

CONFIDENCE5

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DATA QUALITY AND ACCURACY

REASON 1

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PTO ERRORS: A GLOBAL REALITY

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3% Overall error rate: USPTO

• Errors are common in documents filed with PTOs around the world.– Blank field errors – Misspelling– Incorrect descriptions of the mark– Erroneous registrations

Results:

Missed marks. Missed deadlines. Increased risk.

4% Overall error rate: OHIM

WATCHING FOR ERRORS

Our Data Quality Team:• Checks every new mark filed with PTOs around the world

• Corrects errors and fills in the blanks—often within days

– Blank field errors

– Misspellings

– Marks incorrectly registered

• Checks for images, translations and other critical information

• Enters corrected records into our proprietary database

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Benefits to you:

• Fast error correction improves watch quality and accuracy

• Reduces risk of missing a mark of interest to you

PRECISION BY DESIGN

With design marks, we take extra steps to ensure precision:

In the EMEA region:• Index all design marks using Vienna codes

In the Americas:• Created a special design indexing system

• Goes beyond the USPTO coding system

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Benefits to you:

• Identify design marks that might otherwise be missed

• Receive targeted findings of the most relevant results

• Saves you time by providing a “short list” of findings

UNGUARDED ERROR

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It’s still incorrect in the French

record!

Entered as “GUARD” by French PTO

We corrected it in our database: “ED GUARD”

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INTELLIGENT WATCH STRATEGIES

REASON 2

WHAT MAKES A SMART WATCH?

Look at all elements of a mark to identify distinguishing features

Effectively watch for complex combinations of elements

Address specific criteria important to you

Align with your overall brand protection strategy

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Combining all of these helps ensure targeted results.

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INTELLIGENCE TIMES TWO

Benefits to you:• Best of both worlds: expert human insight combined with systematic automation• Receive results most pertinent to your brand• Save time and effort reviewing findings

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Our Watch Analysts have trademark research expertise plus business acumen.

Name: Bart Van Hoof, Quality Specialist

Education: Degree in Humanities (Latin/Mathematics), Masters in Romance Languages from the University of Antwerp

Years of trademark watch experience: 14

Years as Quality Specialist: 8

Approach to Trademark Watching:

“I always remain focused on the true essenceof each trademark, to obtain an effectivewatch strategy.”

WATCH ANALYST PROFILE: U.S.

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Our Watch Analysts have trademark research expertise plus business acumen.

Name: John Hammond, Senior Watch Analyst

Education: B.A. in English and History

Years of trademark experience: 25

Years of watch experience: 5

Approach to Trademark Watching:

“My goal is simple: To deliver the highestquality service and help clients get the best possible results. ”

WATCH ANALYST PROFILE: EMEA

WE OFFER UNIQUE SERVICES

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Applicant/Owner Watch – Thomson CompuMark exclusive• Easy, cost-effective way to stay on top of

competitive activity around the globe• Trademark filings from more than 200

jurisdictions worldwide• Comprehensive coverage

– Non-Latin/Chinese characters– Common law– Web monitoring

Benefits to you:• Peace of mind

• Save time and money

• Avoid having to do this searching on their own

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TIMELY REPORTINGREASON 3

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Opposition deadlinesare short: <10 days

Rapid response is the key to protecting your brand.

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PUTTING TIME ON YOUR SIDE• We deliver findings quickly, consistently• Alert you immediately, via email or fax• Respond to unique market circumstancesExample:• Spanish PTO changed data formats, without notifying users

– This could have delayed our reporting of findings• What we did:

– Put in place an immediate, temporary conversion– Updated our database quickly– Reported findings in a timely manner– No impact on customers—no opposition deadlines missed

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Benefit to you:

• Maximum time to consider your options and take timely actions

FAST, FREE TRANSLATIONS

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• Free, automatic translations of goods and services• Easily understood • Available for key global markets:

– European countries (except Greece)– China– Japan– Brazil– Argentina

• Where automatic translations aren’t available, free translation serviceon request.

Benefits to you:

• More informed strategic decisions about brand use around the globe.

• Avoid time and expense of performing your own translations.

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STREAMLINED ANALYSISREASON 4

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YOUR DAILY CHALLENGE

How can you get more done in less time?

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Benefits to you:• Report important findings in less

time, with less effort.• Spend more valuable time

advising clients.• Add value to your service.

SOLUTION: WATCH ON SERION®

Watch on SERION streamlines your entire trademark watching workflow:

WATCH ON SERION® ADVANCED

Greater power and efficiency for managing significant watch portfolios:• Mobile watch access—a Thomson CompuMark exclusive

– Review and share watch findings—anytime, anywhere

– Mobile activity automatically synchronized with online history

• Historical watch information

– See if identified marks have been reported in the past

– Saves time, provides additional insight into whether use of a mark is expanding

• Single-click access to related contextual information– Access trademark office records and web links, including industry-specific sites

– Make informed decisions, without time-consuming information searching

• Faster custom reports – Create and send reports quicker, in “Record” or “Table” format

– Export Goods text with highlighting and opinions—pinpoint important information quickly and easily

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THE CONVENIENCE OF MOBILE ACCESS

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View Portfolio Review Results Get Details

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“Watch on SERION provides instant and constant availability of ourWatch information.”

“We get notified about the publication of trademarks earlier than other services and we can dispatch watch notices faster because we spend less time on each result.”

“Before, if there was a Watch finding I thought was an issue, I would have to scan it or fax it. With Watch on SERION, I can simply email it to colleagues or clients. That cuts in half the time it takes me to share watch results with others.”

USERS LOVE WATCH ON SERION®

EXPERT, PERSONALIZEDSUPPORT

REASON

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FREEING YOU TO DO YOUR BEST

While you’re focused on your business…

….we’re working to support your brand protection strategy.

TWO TEAMS WITH ONE MISSION

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Our global Watch teams are experienced trademark experts: • Understand what’s important • Anticipate and respond quickly• Take into account special needs and requests

• Average 10 years’ experience• Customer support: phone, email, online chat• Training: phone, online webinar, on-site• SERION® Certification (industry first)Dedicated Customer Service representative for clients with large Watch portfolios

AmericasWatch Team

EMEAWatch Team

• Average 10 years’ experience• Language support: telephone/email support in multiple languages:

– Dutch– English– French

• Training on request

– German– Italian– Spanish

• Watch on SERION can help you attract new clients and retain existing clients

• We help you educate clients about the value of trademark watching—and your firm

• Online customizable brochure

• Add your firm’s information and logocreate a branded PDF in seconds

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HELPING GROW YOUR BUSINESS

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Thomson CompuMark delivers:

Data quality and accuracy

Intelligent watch strategies

Timely reporting

Streamlined analysis

Expert, personalized support

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We help protect your valuable brands.

FIVE REASONS, ONE PARTNER

TRADEMARKS.THOMSONREUTERS.COMIP.THOMSONREUTERS.COM