By Vincent Teh
If what they say about people living up to their names is true, then I’m set for a life of spectacular mediocrity and absolute boredom. As far as names go, Vincent is definitely up there in terms of commonness and way down there in terms of averageness. When I was in university, I lived in a student hall with 5 other Vincents, all bespectacled, all Chinese, all male. So I am really just your ordinary average Vincent, a dime a dozen and hardly inspiring.
A trademark, if you like, is really a name. And as our names have the potential to dictate much of our lives, so will a trademark dictate the life of your business. Consequently, how do you choose a great trademark to give your business the best possible start in life? Should you go for something generic and descriptive that screams out what you do? Or do you go for something unique and distinctive that will set you apart from the rest? What about an exotic foreign name that is unpronounceable by anyone but you? Generally speaking, from a marketing point of view, a mark that gets you noticed and trusted by the consumers is a good trademark. From a legal point of view, a good trademark is a mark that can be easily protected and enforced. By and large, these two tenets go hand in hand.