GB2367156A

GB2367156A - Online brand repository system and methods for submission thereto, searching thereof and management thereof

Info

Publication number: GB2367156A
Application number: GB0023436A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Golsong
Original assignee: RIO BRAND Ltd
Current assignee: RIO BRAND Ltd
Priority date: 2000-09-23
Filing date: 2000-09-23
Publication date: 2002-03-27
Also published as: GB0023436D0; AU2001287929A1; WO2002025514A2

Abstract

A global online brand (eg. trademarks) repository system has: a publicly accessible website; a brand information database coupled to the website for storing information relating to brands (such as nations in which a brand is used or in which a declared brand may be used); a method for categorising the brands; a brand submission mechanism for submitting brands; and a brand search mechanism for searching brands in the repository. The system provides worldwide visibility of brand ownership without requiring brand owners to arrange separate publication in different geographical areas. The database may store names (text) images, sounds or moving pictures (animations).

Description

ONLINE BRAND REPOSITORY SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR SUBMISSION THERETO, SEARCHING THEREOF AND MANAGEMENT THEREOF

Field of the Invention This invention relates to the publication, storage and retrieval of visual, descriptive and ownership information relating to visual, aural and linguistic trademarks, logos, devices and other artefacts indicating branded goods and services.

Brands or trademarks serve as identifiers of products and services, and serve to distinguish a product or service of one source provider from another. Most frequently these source providers are competitors. The effect, however, is to benefit the interests of both the consumer and the brand's owner. The owner of a brand uses it to insure that customers recognize the source of the product and that it is an indication of a consistent level of the product's quality. Consumers can rely on a given brand to indicate the nature and quality to which the consumer has become accustomed. Branding allows consumers to make a choice of a given product or service based on previous experience, both good and bad. The brand acts (1) as an indication of origin of the product, and (2) a guarantee of consistent quality on all products bearing that brand.

In recent years consumer choices among branded goods have expanded enormously, as generic products and services have given way to branded ones. It is well recognized that branded goods and services are of significant and increasing importance in trading in the growing global economy.

Background of the Invention It will be understood that in this application, unless the context otherwise requires, the term trademark covers a conventional trade mark and/or a service mark. In the field of this invention it is known that country-based trademark registers offer brand owners legal protection against misuse of their brands by third parties in the legal jurisdiction of the registration authority and sometimes, via treaty, in other jurisdictions. Such registration typically involves publication of the trademark in the country of registration, so that third parties may reasonably learn of trademark ownerships and thereby avoid knowingly copying, appropriating or misusing a registered trademark. In order to achieve legal protection for a trademark, the owner must make separate registrations in every country in which the owner wishes to trade, and notify the various registrars of the goods and service classes in which the trademark falls.

However, this approach has the disadvantage (s) that:

* national registers require separate registration ; "licensed agents, not brand owners, typically control the filing of trademarks on national registries ; 'the filing of aural or animated marks is extremely complex and often impossible due to the limitations of the existing conventional filing processes;

w most national registers must be searched manually at designated premises by trained agents ; and w some national registers make trademark words searchable via computer systems, but not pictorial, audio or video brand materials.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a global online repository of brands wherein the abovementioned disadvantage (s) may be alleviated.

Statement of Invention In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a global online repository of brands as claimed in claim 1.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of submitting an entry to a global online repository of brands as claimed in claim 6.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for searching a global online repository of brands as claimed in claim 9.

The invention enables brand owners to advertise/publish their ownership of brands to a global audience.

Searchers may enquire on brands held on the repository via a convenient and ubiquitous interface such as the World Wide Web, for no charge. Searchers finding a close match in the repository to a brand that they are developing can choose to modify their own brand before seeking to register it in a national registry, thereby

saving the time and cost incurred in making separate manual searches of the target national registers. The invention does not seek for the repository to replicate the aggregated contents of national registers, but relies upon the willingness of brand owners to submit their brands to the repository and describe them therein. An administration fee may be charged to brand owners who submit their brands to the repository. In return for such a fee, brand owners who submit their brands to the repository would be provided with their brand ownership being advertised/published to a global audience/marketplace.

Searchers may search the repository according to a variety of attribute types, e. g. spelling of a word mark, description or colour of a device mark, classes of goods and services and countries where the mark is in use.

These attributes together form the brand information model.

Brief Description of the Drawings One global online repository of brands, together with a method of submitting an entry thereto and a method for searching thereof, incorporating the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing (s), in which: FIG. 1 shows a block schematic diagram illustrating the core elements of a global online brand repository system;

FIG. 2 shows a block schematic diagram illustrating a method of submitting a brand for entry in the global online brand repository system of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 shows a computer screen form used to create an account in the online brand repository system of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 shows a computer screen form used in uploading a brand into the online brand repository system of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 shows a computer screen form used in describing a brand submitted to the online brand repository system of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 shows a computer screen form used in classifying a brand submitted to the online brand repository system of FIG. 1; FIG. 7 shows a block schematic diagram of illustrating a method for searching the global online brand repository system of FIG. 1; FIG. 8 shows a computer screen form used in searching the online brand repository system of FIG. 1; FIG. 9 shows a computer screen form used in reporting results of search of the online brand repository system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 10 shows a block schematic diagram illustrating a method for managing brands in the global online brand repository system of FIG. 1.

Description of Preferred Embodiment Referring firstly to FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a global online brand repository system 100 utilizes the following collaborating core modules, which may be implemented principally in software: * a brand information repository (120) * a brand information model (130)

* a brand submission mechanism (140), and * a brand search mechanism (150).

As will be understood from the following detailed description, the core modules are implemented in software running on one or more database servers that functionally comprise an internet World Wide Web site 160, which is publicly accessible by user terminals (such as personal computers) 170, in a manner which is generally well known.

In essence, brands are stored in the brand information repository 120 in accordance with the brand information model 130. Brands are submitted to the brand information repository 120 by users (for example, using personal computers connected to the internet), in accordance with the brand information model 130, via the brand submission mechanism 140. Brands stored in the brand information repository 120 are searched by users (for example, using personal computers connected to the internet), in

accordance with the brand information model 130, via the brand search mechanism 140.

Submit a Brand The process for user submission of a brand to the brand information repository 120 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2. As can be seen, firstly a user logs in (step 210) to the system, using a computer terminal (170) such as a personal computer connected to the internet, to view a publicly accessible website through which the system is accessed. Next, the user uploads a brand (step 220) from the terminal to the system, describes the brand (step 230) and classifies the brand (step 240), if necessary interactively learning about classification schemes (step 250). The user may then upload one or more further brands to the system, before eventually making payment (step 260) to the system for submission of the brand (s) and receiving confirmation (step 270).

In order to submit a brand to the repository, a user must already have set up an account with the system provider.

Setting up an account gives the user a unique username and password combination that he/she can use thereafter to submit brands and manage (as will be described in greater detail below) brands that he/she has submitted.

In order to create an account, the user provides (at the computer terminal connected to the internet) personal details by entering information in the screen form 300 shown in FIG. 3. The user enters via a keyboard (not shown) his/her title, first name, last name, company, address and email address in fields 310,320, 330,340, 350 and 360 respectively. The user also chooses and enters a user name in field 370, and chooses and enters a

password (which may be any combination of alpha-numeric characters) in field 380, then re-enters the same password in field 390. Having completed all the required information in the fields of the screen form 300, the user then submits the information by'pressing' (i. e., selecting with a screen cursor and clicking the button of a computer mouse, in known manner) the screen button 395.

The system checks that chosen user name is not already taken and that both entries of the chosen password are identical. If so, then account setup is complete and the user may log in to the system to submit a brand, as will be described below. If not, then the user is presented with an explanation of non-completion of the account setup process and is given an opportunity to enter new information to allow the setup process to be completed.

With an account set up, the user follows the process illustrated in FIG. 2 to submit a brand to the brand repository 120 as follows.

The user enters his/her username and password into the system. When the system has checked the username and password combination, it passes to the next step, in which the screen form 400 is presented to the user.

Using this screen form, the user tells the system the name and owner of the brand he/she wishes to submit to the repository by entering the name and owner information into fields 410 and 420 respectively. The user also tells the system if an image, sound or animated brand asset should accompany the brand name and owner by selecting the relevant one of the buttons 430,440 or 450. Having completed all the required information in the fields of the screen form 400 (and selected any relevant button for image, sound or animation

accompaniment), the user then submits the information by 'pressing'the screen button 460. If an image, sound or animated brand has been selected for accompaniment, the user is presented with a further screen (not shown) in which the user chooses the relevant image, sound or animation file from his/her computer, and the chosen file is copied from the user's computer to the brand repository.

Next, referring now to FIG. 5, the user is presented with screen 500, which the user completes to describe the brand in accordance with a brand information model using keywords and colour (s) as appropriate. The user chooses keywords of his/her own in such a way as to help a future searcher locate the brand during a search. For example, if the brand being submitted contains a representation of the sun, then the user may enter'sun'and'rays'as keywords. The user enters his/her chosen keywords into the field 510.

The user describes the brand's colours (if any) by selecting names from a pre-determined range of common colours in fields 530, and may also optionally specify colours using a standard industry classification of colours (for example, the Pantonee colour classification scheme) in fields 540.

The user can also further describe the brand using a visual language identification mechanism such as a classification scheme for visual elements commonly used in brands, allowing the user to describe the brand without using words. A commonly used such scheme is that published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation and known as the WIPO classification or'Vienna'

classification. The user can browse additional information about the classification scheme, and choose codes from the scheme interactively for the system to allocate to the brand; alternatively he/she can enter the classification codes directly in fields 520; alternatively the classification codes can be omitted altogether.

Having completed all the required information in the fields of the screen form 500, the user then submits the information by'pressing'the screen button 560. If the user requires help in completing screen form 500, he/she may'press'the button 570 to view an interactive user guide (not shown).

Next, referring now to FIG. 6, the user is presented with screen 600, which the user completes to indicate the areas of the world in which he/she considers the brand is recognised. The user enters his/her geographical selections by selecting among the fields 610. The user also indicates which goods and services apply to the brand, using a standard classification scheme of goods and services such as the well-known International Classification for trademark goods and services. As before, if the user desires, he/she can browse the classification scheme to select the appropriate classification heading (s). The user enters his/her chosen classification headings from the International Classification by selecting among the fields 620.

Having completed all the required information in the fields of the screen form 600, the user then submits the information by'pressing'the screen button 630. If the user requires help in completing screen form 600, he/she

may'press'the button 640 to view the interactive user guide (not shown).

At this point the user has finished submitting the brand to the repository. The user can choose to submit one or more further brands, in which case the system goes to the Upload Brand step 220, in which the user is presented with the screen form 300 as described above. If the user has no more brands to submit to the repository at this time, then the process continues to the Make Payment step 260, where the user is presented with a screen (not shown) in which the user enters payment details such as credit card or debit card information by which he/she will pay for submission of brands to the repository.

Such entry of payment details is well known in the art and need not be described further. When payment is completed, the process continues to the confirmation step 270, where a confirmation screen (not shown) is presented to the user, detailing the brands that the user has submitted during this session, including all the details of the brands which the user has entered. The confirmation screen also shows the fee that the user has paid.

Search Brands The process of searching the brand repository is illustrated in FIG. 7. Searching of the brand repository may be open to everyone with internet access through the World Wide Web, the searcher not being required to have an account with the system provider or to enter a username or a password.

The first step in the Search Brands process enables the searcher to enter search terms for the brands he/she is interested in finding. A simple search can be conducted just by entering keywords (using, for example, the simple screen form 800 of FIG. 8, where a searcher enters keywords in field 810, and'presses'the button 830). An advanced search function (not shown) allows the searcher to specify values for any of the attribute types used in the brand submission process, using a screen (not shown) similar to the brand submission screens 500 and/or 600 shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 respectively. For example, the searcher can choose codes from the brand classification schemes, colours and/or geographical regions in any combination or order.

If the user requires help in completing screen form 800, he/she may'press'the button 840 to view an interactive user guide (not shown).

The system matches the searcher's search terms against the information held in the brand repository. The system displays the resulting matches it has found by showing the name of the brand and the associated image (if any) in a thumbnail format (of which four, 910, 920, 930 and 940, are shown), as shown in the screen 900 of FIG 9.

The thumbnail format is a reduced size of brand image that allows the searcher to quickly assess the value of the match to his/her needs. In the case of audio or moving image brands, the thumbnail image 940 contains a 'PLAY'button 945, appearing within the thumbnail area, which the user may click to listen to or view the relevant brand to assess its relevance to his/her needs.

The searcher may then use the displayed matches to create a collection or subset of brands which he/she would like to explore further. The searcher does this by indicating matches of interest by clicking with a computer mouse on the'ADD'button immediately above the relevant thumbnail image. Thus, the searcher can look through all the matches, selecting matches for further exploration. The collection of the searcher's selected matches is available to the searcher as a'clipboard' (not shown) of thumbnail images and/or brand names, which can be viewed in this same way as in the screen 900.

The searcher can see further details about any of the matched brands by clicking on the thumbnail image. The system will show the searcher all the details held in the repository about any brand, except for information of a confidential nature. It may be noted that the brand repository may hold other information relating to a brand than has been mentioned above ; for example, the repository could hold information that the brand owner would like it known that the owner is interested in selling the brand, in which case the thumbnail image could be annotated with a'For Sale'notice. A further use of such a feature would be that a searcher could

search the repository for brands that are'For Sale'.

If the user requires help in using the screen form 900, he/she may'press'the button 950 to view an interactive user guide (not shown).

Manage a Brand The process of managing a brand is illustrated in FIG. 10. In order to manage a brand, a user must be in

possession of a valid system account and its associated username and password combination, and he/she must also have already successfully submitted at least one brand to the repository.

To manage a brand, the user logs in (step 1010) to the system using the same procedure as in the brand submission process. Once the system has successfully recognised the user as a valid user, the system displays (step 1020) to the user a list of the brands submitted to the repository by the user and currently held in the repository. This is conveniently similar to the display used to show searchers the brands which match their search terms. The user can then choose (step 1030) one of the brands to manage. When the user has chosen a brand, the system displays all the details held in the repository about that brand. The user may change (step 1040) any of the details. The procedure for changing the brand details is similar to that used in the original brand submission process and can use the same display screens. When the user has completed making his/her changes, the system displays (step 1050) a confirmation screen (as in the brand submission procedure) showing the new details of the brand as now held in the repository.

If the user wishes to make further changes then he/she can return to the Amend Brand Details step (1040). If the user wishes to manage other brands during this session, he/she can be returned to the Show User's Brand step (1020). Otherwise, the process of managing brands is complete at this point.

It will be understood that the system functions described above (such as the brand submission mechanism, the brand search mechamism, the brand management mechanism, the

storage, searching and retrieval of brand information and associated data from the brand repository, and the screen forms) are embodied in software such as database servers and associated scripts, which are generally well known and which require no further explanation herein.

Thus, in summary, a brand owner seeking to lodge brand information with the repository accesses the brand submission mechanism at a public web site. The brand submission mechanism contains a number of interactive forms that capture information about the owner and the classes of goods and services and the geographical area he/she wishes the repository to allocate to the submitted brand. The submission mechanism also uses a brand information model to guide the brand owner through a detailed description of the brand, including its geometric character, coloration, spatial characteristics and any separately identifiable elements. The brand submission mechanism also enables the brand owner to move data (e. g. , image or audio or video information) relating to the submitted brand into the repository directly from his/her computer.

The brand information repository stores the brand data supplied by the brand owner, including the values he/she has chosen from the brand information model, in a persistent computer database. The database is replicated for security and recovery purposes. All events relating to additions, amendments and deletions from the database are recorded with their date and time in computer event logs, in known manner, and subjected to external independent auditing on a regular basis.

A searcher accesses the repository via the same public website. The searcher can search the repository by entering keywords into an interactive form, using the brand information model to specify search criteria. The system's search engine attempts to match the searcher's input criteria against the information held in the brand information repository. Successful complete and partial matches are presented to the searcher in abbreviated format. The searcher may then choose to see the full repository details held for any or all of the presented results.

It will be understood that the global online repository of brands described above provides the following advantages: The invention provides global visibility of brand ownership without requiring brand owners to arrange separate publication in different geographical areas. By using the World Wide Web, the invention makes these commercial assets visible/audible to interested parties throughout the world at (i) a cost to the searcher that can be zero, and (ii) a cost to the brand owner that can be low in comparison to other forms of publication.

Although the invention does not seek to provide legal protection to a brand owner, the invention provides a fast, accurate, efficient and low-cost means whereby third parties can reasonably avoid violating the rights of a brand owner. The ease of the brand submission process and the comprehensiveness, clarity and applicability of the brand information model encourage brand owners to submit their brands to the repository, thus enhancing the value of the repository to all users.

The invention allows brand owners to create global visibility for brand properties that challenge the traditional materials accepted by national trademark registers. Such non-traditional brands include moving brands, such as entertainment channel identifiers (idents), and aural brands such as jingles.

The invention drastically reduces the time and cost associated with traditional national register searches, making it easier for third parties to check that they are not on the point of challenging the rights of a brand owner.

The invention provides a line of first defence for brand owners, and a point of first enquiry for searchers. In this way the invention allows brand owners to reduce litigation especially against unwitting petty infringements, reducing their brand administration costs and freeing the business of national courts for more significant cases.

Similarly, the invention increases the confidence of brand developers that they have taken a first reasonable step in ensuring that they are not challenging the rights of a brand owner.

It will be understood that although the invention has been described above by way of example, various alternatives and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended to encompass all such alternatives and modifications within the following claims.

Claims

Claims 1. A global online brand repository system, comprising : a website for user access; a brand information repository coupled to the website for storing information relating to brands; a brand information model for categorizing brands in accordance with a variety of predetermined attributes; a brand submission mechanism for submitting brands to the repository based upon the brand information model; and a brand search mechanism for searching brands in the repository based upon the brand information model.
2. The global online brand repository system according to claim 1, further comprising means for submitting and storing at least one of the following types of information associated with brands: (i) visual image information (ii) audio information (iii) video animation information.
3. The global online brand repository system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a payment mechanism coupled to the brand submission mechanism for transacting a payment for submission of a brand to the repository.
4. The global online brand repository system according to claim 1,2 or 3, further comprising:

a repository event log means for logging events associated with the entries in the repository.
5. The global online brand repository system according to any preceding claim, further comprising: a user guide coupled to the website for guiding a user through the submission and/or searching process.
6. A method for submitting an entry to a global online repository of brands, the method comprising the steps of: accessing, at a submitter's computer, a website coupled to the repository; describing the submitted brand using attributes of a brand information model; and transmitting and storing the brand information model attributes in the repository.
7. The method for submitting according to claim 6, further comprises submitting and storing at least one of the following types of information associated with brands: (i) visual image information (ii) audio information (iii) video animation information.
8. The method for submitting according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising: transacting a payment by the submitter for submission of a brand to the repository.
9. The method for submitting according to claim 7,8 or 9, further comprising:

logging events associated with the changes to the repository.
10. A method for searching a global online repository of brands, the method comprising the steps of: accessing, at a searcher's computer, a website coupled to the repository ; entering search terms, using a brand information model, for a brand to be searched ; matching search terms against brands stored in the repository; returning to the searcher brand information resulting from the matching step.
11. The method for searching according to claim 10, further comprising returning to the searcher at least one of the following types of information associated with brand information resulting from the matching step: (i) visual image information (ii) audio information (iii) video animation information.
12. The method for searching according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the step of returning returns abbreviated brand information, and the method further comprises: selecting brands from the returned abbreviated brand information; and providing full repository information for the brands selected from the returned abbreviated brand information.
13. The method for searching according to claim 10, 11 or 12, further comprising : a visual language identification mechanism for user operations, whereby the user can describe brands without entering words.
14. A method for managing a brand entered in a global online repository of brands, the method comprising the steps of: accessing, at a submitter's computer, a website coupled to the repository; identifying a brand entered in the repository ; presenting for modification brand information model attributes of the identified brand ; modifying at least one of the presented brand information model attributes ; and transmitting and storing modified brand information model attributes in the repository.
15. The method for managing according to claim 14, further comprising presenting for modification and storing at least one of the following types of information: (iv) visual image information (v) audio information (vi) video animation information.
16. A global online brand repository system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
17. A method for submitting an entry to a global online repository of brands substantially as hereinbefore

described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
18. A method for searching a global online repository of brands substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
19. A method for managing a brand entered in a global online repository of brands substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.