Taiwan distributor wants to trademark our brand – advice please

Question

We are a small business. A person/company in Taiwan wants to distribute our products. (they are authentic and have already purchased a sizeable order from us). They have just asked if we can give them permission to “Trademark our brand” in Taiwan.
Should we say yes? If so are there any caveats we should insist upon (contract etc.) Please advise. We are novices at this!
Many thanks

Answer

No do not let them trade mark it, trade mark it your self and come to an agreement with them to use your logo/image or the like.

Answer

In short – no. This is YOUR brand, and no one would be allowed to do this for you. You must protect your brand at all costs.
One of the reason they ask you to trademark your brand is because there are many copycats out there who will trademark it and then will blackmail you to get it back, OR will not allow your distributor to sell – or even copy your product and throw your distributor and your brand out.

So my advice would be to get in touch with a lawyer or ask UKTI to help you trademark the brand on your own, for them – and then you control the licensing if any.

Answer

Hi I would recommend that you look at getting the trade mark yourself in that and other potential markets. That way you will own it, rather than others owning what is ‘your’ mark and brand name.

If you already have a trade mark in the UK you might look to extent it to overseas markets using the Madrid system (see the WIPO website) or approaching the Taiwanese trade mark office directly. UKTI and the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) can help here.
The IPO has a free helpline number 0300 300 2000

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