Can you trademark ingredients

A patent for a composition of matter, including a food recipe, allows you as a small-business owner sole rights to prepare your product for sale to consumers and profit from those sales for a period of years. A United States patent has strict filing requirements, and the approval process can take months to years to complete. You must describe the shape, look and ingredients that go into making your product in great detail.

Your product must also meet the "nonobvious" requirement, meaning your recipe must not be easily discernible to a professional with food training or the everyday consumer. A patent for a recipe usually covers either mass market products or those designed to perform specific functions within existing products. In seeking your patent, you must decide how you intend to use your product in the market. For example, if you're designing a product to increase the shelf-life of existing products, you must name that as your product's purpose in your patent application.

In addition to a name, you can include a logo, design, and certain types of packaging. That process usually takes months, although it may be longer if your application is sent back for correction or clarification. That means your trademarked names and logos are yours and yours alone.

Of course, someone out there will want to imitate your product. Your trademark attorney can help you decide if you should pursue international trademarks. Your attorney can help you avoid trademark issues and guide you through the trademark registration process. View Larger Image. Trademarks A trademark is a legally protected word, name, design, logo, or other symbol of your product or business.

Choose A Name For Your Food Product The first step in registering a trademark for a food product is coming up with a name for your company or product, or both. Are you ready to trademark your product? Alternative Investment Funds. Aviation Regulation. Corporate Tax. Data Privacy. Mondaq Advice Centres. More MACs.

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Your Organisation We need this to enable us to match you with other users from the same organisation. Already registered? Login here. It cannot be a mix of already existing food items. If a consumer can easily identify the ingredients of your product, it is unlikely that it will be eligible for a patent.

You may be approved for a patent, however, if you create the recipe with a unique food process. Because many new recipes simply involve mixing together ingredients that already exist, it is very difficult to get a patent on recipes.

For this reason, many restaurants and food companies never even attempt to get a patent on their food products. There is still a way to protect your food recipes. It is possible to trademark a food item if you intend to use it for branding. Although a food trademark does not prevent competitors from using the recipe, it does prevent them from marketing it and calling it by its given name.