It’s been 7 years. Your once small bakery, The Bread Project has become a household name. People travel across regional lines to buy from you. A few months ago, your friends started congratulating you on opening a new branch. One sent you a picture of a shop that looks similar to yours with the name The Bread Project, K’si boldly displayed in front. You have no affinity with that shop. Yet your customers think it is your new branch. So, they patronize it. At first, you find the new shop’s overnight success annoying, but you choose to ignore it. However, yesterday, a customer posted a scathing review on X after eating a spoiled cake from the K’si shop. Unfortunately, their review has gone viral. Your reputation has been shattered. Sales dip. And when you demand that The Bread Project, K’si stop using that name, their response is simple: “You don’t own it.” They have benefited from your business’s reputation built over the years, and now they are tearing it apart, and you feel powerless to stop it.
If this story sounds familiar, it is because so many businesses around the world have suffered similar fates. The question is: could this have been prevented? In many cases, the answer is yes, through trademark protection.
So, What is a Trademark?
A trademark is a sign that distinguishes the goods or services of one business from those of another. Under Ghana’s Trade Marks Act, 2004 (Act 664), a trademark may consist of words, names, designs, letters, colours, shapes, slogans, sounds, or a combination of these elements.[1] In simple terms, a trademark is the primary legal tool used to protect the identity of a brand.
What Can Be Registered as a Trademark?
Many business owners think trademarks only protect company names. In reality, trademarks can protect a variety of brand elements.
Names: If your brand is you, and you are the brand, and your name is unique enough, you can register your name as a trademark.
Words: These can be either invented words or real words. Invented words are usually unique and memorable, making them strong marks. If they are real words, they can only be used in a way that is radically different from their ordinary meaning… Like Apple or BlackBerry for devices.
Slogans: This should be a slogan notoriously associated with your brand, like MTN’s, “Everywhere you go,” or Nike’s “Just do it.”
Sounds: You can even register a sound if your customers immediately associate your business with that particular soundtrack.
Designs, colors, shapes and letters or combinations of them, like a logo.
Smell: In the EU, US and Australia you can even register a scent as a trademark. For companies in the beauty or hospitality industries, this is a game changer.
How to Register a Trademark in Ghana
Trademark registration in Ghana is administered through the Ghana Industrial Property Office under the Registrar-General’s Department. It can be completed in 5 steps:
Step 1: Conduct a Preliminary Search
to determine whether a similar trademark already exists.
Step 2: File the Application
This is done by filling and submitting the prescribed application form together with a representation of the mark and details of the goods or services to be covered.
Step 3: Examination
The Registrar examines the application to determine whether it complies with the requirements of the law and whether the mark is registrable.
Step 4: Publication
If accepted, the application is published to give third parties an opportunity to oppose the registration.
Step 5: Registration and Certification
Where no successful opposition is filed, a certificate of registration is issued. Trademark protection generally runs for ten years and may be renewed for successive ten-year periods.[2]
Why Registration Matters
Trademark registration provides strong protection. Under Act 664, registration confers an exclusive right to use the trademark in relation to the goods or services for which it is registered.
Registration offers several important benefits. Here are just 5 of them:
- It creates a public record of ownership.
- It protects your business’s goodwill
- It deters copycats because it makes enforcement against infringers easier.
- It facilitates licensing and franchising which feed directly into business expansion.
- The trademark itself can become a valuable asset for the business
How Long Does Protection Last?
10 years from the date of registration. And it can be renewed every 10 years as long as the trademark remains in use. Businesses must, however, be careful not to allow their trademarks to become generic, otherwise they will lose the protection. Aspirin used to be a brand name. Now it is a synonym for painkillers. That notoriety cost Aspirin its trademark protection.
Trademarks as a business strategy
Many businesses assume that company registration or business name registration is enough to protect their brand. It is not. It only tells people the name of your company. It doesn’t prevent others from using similar names or pretending to be you by using very similar branding. That is why as a business, trademark considerations must feature in your business strategy.
You should also not wait until you expand. Otherwise, you could end up like The Bread Project. Or worse, your copycat could register their trademark ahead of you, leaving you a huge disadvantage.
Finally, trademark registration is not universal. It is country-specific. So locally registered trademarks do not enjoy automatic protection abroad. Similarly, even for locally registered marks, businesses and products are separated into classes. So, it is important to register the mark for each class of goods that you trade in using that particular trademark.
Choosing a Strong Trademark
Not every name can be registered as a trademark. Some marks are stronger than others. A strong trademark is distinctive and memorable. Invented words like “Google” are excellent examples because they are both unique and memorable. Business owners should generally avoid names that merely describe the product or service. For example, a company selling bottled water may struggle to register a mark such as “Pure Drinking Water” because the name simply describes the product.
Before investing in branding, businesses should ask:
- Is the name unique?
- Is it easy to remember?
- Does it distinguish my business from competitors?
- Is it unlikely to be confused with an existing trademark?
The more distinctive the mark, the stronger the protection it is likely to receive. An example is “Kivo”. It is very distinct and easy to remember.
Conducting a Basic Trademark Search
Before adopting a new brand name or logo, it is advisable to conduct a basic search. A search helps determine whether a similar mark already exists and reduces the risk of future disputes. Businesses should consider:
- Searching the Ghana trademark register.
- Conducting internet and social media searches.
- Checking company names registered at the Office of the Registrar of Companies.
- Reviewing domain name availability.
A preliminary search cannot guarantee that a mark will be registered, but it can identify obvious conflicts before significant resources are invested in branding and marketing.
Conclusion
A brand may be one of the most valuable assets a business owns, but without legal protection, it can also be one of the most vulnerable. Trademarks provide businesses with a practical and effective way to protect their names, logos, slogans, and other brand identifiers from misuse.
For entrepreneurs, SMEs, and growing businesses across Ghana and Africa, trademark registration should not be viewed as a luxury or an afterthought. It is an investment in the long-term value, reputation, and growth of the business. After all, building a brand takes years; protecting it should start from day one.
But what if you haven’t or cannot register a trademark? Is there no hope for you? We will discuss that in our next piece on Unfair Competition and Passing Off.
[1] https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/17315
[2] Trade Marks Act, 2004 (Act 664), Section 3 and Registrar-General’s Department, Trademark Registration Procedure. https://rgd.gov.gh/Industrial%20Property.html
Authors: Audrey Naa Dei Kotey, Clara Mettle-Nunoo & Bernard Darkwah
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