Trade marks competing for the title of the Trade Mark of the Year were selected through a public vote organized by the Patent Office, and included the marks of Estonian entrepreneurs registered in 2024 in Estonia or the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Twelve brands competed, all of which had been awarded the Patent Office’s Trade Mark of the Month title during the previous year. These were trade marks that were linguistically or visually striking and attractive to consumers.
The winner of the vote was the Lumiorava trade mark, under which the company markets magnesium water. The award was presented to Lumiorav by the Director General of the Patent Office, Margus Viher.
When accepting the award, the founder and CEO of the company, Andres Randma, stated that the primary goal of registering the trade mark was to protect their products from malicious copycats. "The trade mark sends a clear signal to consumers that our brand is completely different in terms of content and quality from any possible copies," said Randma.
A good trade mark is striking both in content and form
At the event, special awards were also presented by the Estonian Chamber of Patent Attorneys, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Institute of the Estonian Language, and the Estonian Public Relations Association. The favorite of the Chamber of Patent Attorneys was the slogan "Aeg ubasteks hetkedeks" ("Time for beany moments") owned by Coffee People OÜ, which the company uses to mark the coffees made in their roasting house.
The special award of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry went to Tallink for their rare type of motion mark, a short video clip used to advertise their services. Mait Palts, the head of the Chamber, explained that their decision was based on the fact that the mark is memorable, eye-catching, and tells the story of Tallink's products and services.
The Institute of Estonian Language and the Estonian Public Relations Association selected the trade mark Ligipääsuke (diminutive of "access", but also means "Nearby swallow" in Estonian) as the best. The trade mark belongs to Ligipääsuke OÜ, a company offering accessibility services, led by disability advocate Jakob Rosin. ""Ligipääsuke" immediately associates with the word ‘ligipääs’ (access), so the name and the service offered are perfectly aligned," explained Marika Alver, the coordinator, the Institute's choice for the special award.
The smart design of Snoller was born out of the entrepreneur's own need
While the Patent Office has been awarding the Trade Mark of the Year title for the third year, this is the first year we also selected the Design of the Year.
Of the more than 200 industrial designs registered last year, four registered designs from Estonian companies made it to the shortlist of the design competition. The best was chosen by a jury of design field experts, who awarded the title to the sled Snoller, owned by Snoller OÜ. Snoller is an innovative sled with adjustable wheels, allowing it to be used on both snow and harder surfaces. The idea for Snoller came from Lilian Promet, the creator of the company, out of a practical need when moving outdoors with a child.
"Snoller is a functional but also visually distinctive product. Design protection helps maintain its uniqueness and ensures that other companies cannot bring an identical of very similar product to the market," explained Promet, adding that in addition to protecting the trade mark and technical solution, they also wanted to protect the product's appearance through design protection.
Design protection helps against copying
On the panel discussing design protection before the award ceremony, the head of the company ÖÖD Group, which produces mirror houses, Andreas Tiik, noted that due to AI tools, copying designs has become very easy, and often the customer is the one who suffers, mistakenly thinking they are buying the original product. Priit Kallas, the CEO of Iglucraft OÜ, mentioned that protecting their products has helped them fight copycats, as showing the registered design often leads to the quick stop of imitation activities.
Liina Jents, a trade mark and design attorney from the law firm Cobalt, who also participated in the panel discussion, confirmed that if, for example, a counterfeit product is seized at the border, proving the counterfeit is much easier when the design is registered.