“Let there be a heart”, “help me there”: key phrases become trademarks

When it comes to brands, everyone thinks of big companies that are known around the world. If they are copied, there are legal problems and the payment of fines.

But it’s not just big companies that can have brands associated with the products they sell. The sticks, names, way of walking and wearing clothes can be registered as a trademark as long as it has meaning and expresses something. Commercial use of these marks is exclusive to those who registered and may not be appropriated by anyone else.

The registration is done by the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inpi), which is also responsible for patents in the country.

Andre Salgado Felix, partner attorney at Ernesto Borges Advogados, says “there is a heart” by narrator Galvão Bueno, is a registered trademark of Rede Globo.

He claims that there are different categories within trademark registration. Example: The ‘There is a heart’ brand is categorized as an item for advertising, clothing, and even jewelry. So, if Globo wanted to make a T-shirt with expression, it could.

“Good Friends” and “Help Me There”

Galvão Bueno also has another expression recorded by TV Globo: “Okay, friends,” the name of the program he presents on SporTV and also the phrase used in sports broadcasts on the network.

Also on television, the classic phrase of journalist Marcelo Resende (1951-2017) “cut for me”, which he used to say during the broadcast of Cidade Alerta, on TV Record, was recorded in Inpi by the same station. Rezende’s famous phrase was uttered when he wanted to change direction the image that was in the air.

Another recorded phrase is “Help me there” by journalist Jose Luis Datina, the band’s presenter. “Help me there!” It is owned by TV Record and recorded in 2012, during his meteoric passage through the network. So much so that Datina uses today to say “help me there, man,” to distinguish.

In these two cases, the records forbid the use of expressions in the titles of theatrical performances, beauty contests, online games, the organization of contests and everything related to the media (TV, radio, website).

Details registered by large companies

McDonald’s “M” is a registered trademark. The character of the character, in yellow brackets, cannot be reproduced anywhere, not even if the establishment is of a type other than food.

The Cola-Cola bottle, which has a specific design, is also registered and cannot be copied (as is the name, even if it is not for drinks). “Champagne” is a trademark, and a product can be named only if it meets a number of requirements.

a Petrobras It is a registered Brazilian trademark. The logo cannot be copied. The stylized Cacau Show chocolate brand “CS” also cannot be copied, even for anything other than chocolate or food.

Some things cannot be registered.

Hand gestures, for example, cannot be recorded, as people can do them unintentionally, for example. However, they can be represented graphically (in the drawing).

Trademarks and patents

There is an important difference between trademark and patent, which is as follows:

• A brand is a representation through a symbol that resembles a company or a product
• A patent is a right to an invention or something useful.

A trademark or patent registration can be renewed while it is in use. On average, records should be updated between 10 and 20 years (depending on the brand or patent).

Compensation and imprisonment for one year

Fernanda Pecos, partner at Iplatam Marcas e Patents, says the brand grants the right to exclusive use within Brazil. “If someone is using the brand and it is something that can confuse customers, a notice can be sent,” he says.

According to Franklin Gomez, partner at FG Intellectual Property, anyone who copies a registered trademark (or patent) can be held criminally liable for a “crime against trademark registration” or patent infringement.

“In both cases these are crimes that can lead to a year in prison, in addition to compensating the trademark owner. There is an attempt to increase the sentence to four years in prison, but that has not happened yet,” he says.

Additionally, products that are eventually sold under the brand name may be seized and destroyed.

The new center sign in the country

A new form of trademark registration in the country took effect already in October: the site mark. That is, something specific can be registered to be used in this way only.

says Marcelo Brandao, partner at Vilage Trademarks and Patents.

The scent of Chanel No. 5 perfume is registered as a placemark. Zipper stitching on brand bags Kipling It is also recorded and cannot be copied.

On the outside, the Havaianas recorded the placement of the logo on the slipper strap. In Brazil, this registration has not yet taken place, because the legislation is new.