winter 2016 round-up Give my regards to Broad Street Take a stroll along Broad Street in Birmingham, towards Paradise Circus, and you will see, on your left, the new Central Library building but look down and you will notice you are standing on the citys Walk of Stars. money in your brand. It can be disappointing, upsetting and costly to find out that the name you have chosen is already owned by someone else. The trademark register can be searched online to give an indication of whether your brand has been registered. Among the names is that of legendary rocker and hellraiser ozzy osbourne not only the lead singer with Black Sabbath and a native of Aston, but also a registered trademark. IP tools Trademarks have been used to protect personal names for generations, but are more commonly used in conventional businesses, such as WHSmith and Thomas Cook. However, many celebrities are now recognising the value of registering their monikers; ozzy, for example, can use his trademark to strengthen his brand and prevent others from using it in bad faith. There are a range of free tools on the Why register? A registered trademark exists to protect a brand, and to prevent confusion between customers about the origin of products, goods or services. Round-uP Intellectual Property Office (IPO) website to help you understand and identify the IP in your business. Knowing what you own and protecting it can add value to your business and give you competitive Personal names as trademarks The more common a name, the harder it would be to obtain protection for it. For example, using Smith alone to represent your doctors surgery may be difficult because there are a number of doctors across the uK with the surname Smith. Its worth noting that probably the most common name in the uK, John Smith, is a registered trademark for beer. Credit: Gary Townley, business manager at the uK Intellectual Property office Images: J Stone / Shutterstock The more unusual the surname, the harder it would be to argue that the name is generally known. First names may be looked on slightly differently; James for clothing may not be considered as common. TrAdeMArk fAcTS l Trademarks cost from 200 l There is a 30 discount for online applications l Initial protection lasts for 10 years l A trademark can be a name, logo, strapline or a combination of these l The trademark register can be searched online l International routes for trademark protection are available l The IPos Right Start service halves the application fees l Basic trademark guides are available on the IPO YouTube channel But its not just how common a name is thats important; your trademark must also avoid describing the goods and/or services that you trade in. In the blacksmithing business, for example, the name Smith would be far too descriptive because Smith is a common term used to describe a blacksmith. The use of the name Brown for condiments or paints may also be problematic. Why search? Making sure someone hasnt got there first is crucial before you invest any time, effort and Get involved in Small Business Saturday The fourth annual Small Business Saturday, supported by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), takes place on 3 december. Small Business Saturday is a great opportunity to encourage more people to shop with local businesses, and for firms to put on an event or advertise what they do. It is a day of celebration across the uK, and last year: Round-uP l Small Biz 100 highlights one small business a day for the 100 days leading up to the event l The Small Business Saturday bus tour takes place from october to december l You can register and advertise a business for free on the Small Business Saturday Small Business Finder l use social media to advertise what local businesses are doing tweet @fsb_policy, @fsb_voice and @SmallBizSatUK and theyll give you a shout out via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter l nearer the day, use the Small Business Saturday logo and posters to encourage people to use local businesses these can be obtained from here l Customers spent 623m with small businesses an increase of 119m (24 per cent) on the 2014 event. l #SmallBizSatUK trended at no1 all day, with more than 100,000 tweets sent in support, reaching more than 25 million people l More than 75 per cent of local councils actively supported the campaign, delivering on-the-ground activities such as free parking, free market stalls to home-based businesses, Christmas fairs and small business networking events A spokeswoman for the FSB, says: Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Shopping locally in the lead up to Small Business Saturday, on the day and beyond, will help our local communities to prosper, aid local economic growth and help bolster job creation. Credit: Karen Woolley, development manager, Federation of Small Businesses Measure up to save money A recall of a product because of short weight or, worse, legal action for selling deficient quantity erodes consumer confidence in a business. Ensuring accurate, consistent measurement can eliminate this risk and reduce financial losses. Evidence collected during trading standards visits to manufacturers and packers shows that many have to give produce away or re-work goods because they dont weigh what has been declared on the packaging. and measuring should be checked regularly. Your local trading standards service has calibrated equipment to do this and can also advise on how to operate a quality system for packaged goods under the average weight system. It is important to maintain accuracy checks at all critical control points, especially if you buy goods from external suppliers. do you ever check the quantity of your deliveries to ensure you are not being supplied with short weight or measure? Giving produce away is like pouring money down the drain and, over a year, can add up to large amounts of lost revenue. The results from one survey revealed that a weighbridge used by a business was inaccurate and, as a result, it was giving away produce amounting to more than 600 per week. If you sell products that are weight- or volume-marked and would like further information on weights and measures law, contact your local trading standards service. Remember, accurate measurement will save you money. Instruments used by businesses for weighing Credit: James Greenaway and Sarah noonan Images: Ldprod / Shutterstock BuSIneSS MATTerS Trading Standards is committed to making it easier for businesses to comply with the law and Trading Standards Business News (TSBN) is one of the ways it is doing just that. Formerly called Trading Standards News, this publication focuses on topics that are relevant to people running businesses, and aims to help them operate safely and efficiently while staying within the law. If you are viewing this edition on a web browser, you can download the TSBN app for Apple, Android and Amazon devices. For further information please contact your local Trading Standards Service