Global

Naming, trademark basics and rebranding: Running a brand refresh without legal missteps

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 12 details that are specific to your organisation.

See the live deckSee the full outline
Try the coursePreview the survey
Length
35 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
Before a naming project starts
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Grey areas: one market, similar names and old names
What would you do?

A name is free in your home market and the team wants to launch in a second market the same week

Try it: this is one of 17 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 35 minutes
  • Scenario, timeline, process, sorting activity and quizzes
  • 10-question final check, 80% to pass

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 10 slides
  • Quiz, word cloud, poll, ranking slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 291.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment-Whole course
SO 291.1Explain the difference between a brand, a product name and a trade markBest practiceWhole course
SO 291.2Rank candidate names by distinctiveness: generic, descriptive, suggestive, coinedGeneral trade mark principles (US Lanham Act [unverified]; EU Regulation 2017/1001 [unverified])Whole course
SO 291.3Explain that trade mark rights are tied to a territory and a set of goods or services, and that use or registration in one market does not cover anotherMadrid system [unverified]; check by jurisdictionWhole course
SO 291.4Run a basic clearance check (registers, domains, social handles, language and cultural meaning) and know when to hand over to legal counsel + your infoBest practiceWhole course
SO 291.5Plan a rebrand that protects the rights you already hold during the transition + your infoBest practiceWhole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 12 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 35 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

Why a great name can still be unusable

3 pages

7 min
Before you beginNoteList
The launch that stalledTextImageTimeline
What went wrong?Key factQuiz
2

Brand, name and trade mark in brief

3 pages

7 min
Three words, three thingsTabs
How distinctive is it?AccordionNoteYour info
CheckFlashcardsMatching quiz
3

From shortlist to cleared name: the process

3 pages

7 min
Six stepsProcessYour infoYour info
Rank the shortlistSorting activity
CheckChecklistQuiz
4

Grey areas: one market, similar names and old names

3 pages

6 min
Free here, taken thereScenario
Similar is not the sameScenario
Do not borrow a lookSorting activityMatching quiz
5

Planning the rebrand and speaking up

2 pages

4 min
RoadmapTimelineYour info
Raise itProcessYour infoScenarioQuiz
6

Final assessment

Assessment

4 min
Final check10 questions80% to passCompletion page

Live deck and surveys

10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "all names in this session are invented
Word cloudOne word that should describe our brand
PollWhich have you worked on?
ContentBrand, name and trade mark in three lines; the four name types
QuizWhich name is strongest? (Zorvia ✔ · Fresh Fast Delivery · Premium Quality Bank · Cloudy Cloud Storage)
QuizFree in our market, launching in another. First step? (Check the second market before spend ✔ · Launch and see · Change a letter · Buy the domain)
RankingPut these four candidate names in order of distinctiveness
Content · customiseCustomise: our counsel, clearance tools and rebrand owner" {{TRADEMARK_COUNSEL_CONTACT}}, {{CLEARANCE_TOOLS_NOTE}}, {{REBRAND_OWNER_ROLE}}
Scale / Q&AHow confident are you running a naming check?" 1-5, then open questions
Content · customiseClosing {{HELP_CONTACT}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}, {{COURSE_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. How is clearance handled in your team today? multiple choice
  6. Which name type do you think is strongest? multiple choice
  7. How well do we protect old names and logos during a refresh? 1-5 scale
  8. I feel able to pause a naming project to ask for a legal check. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the clearance process and the trade mark counsel contact? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

12 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Help contact{{HELP_CONTACT}}
  • Escalation route{{ESCALATION_ROUTE}}
  • Policy link{{POLICY_LINK}}
  • Who gives trade mark advice in your markets{{TRADEMARK_COUNSEL_CONTACT}}
  • The register and domain search routes you use{{CLEARANCE_TOOLS_NOTE}}
  • Who owns the rebrand plan and rights inventory{{REBRAND_OWNER_ROLE}}
Show all 12 fields
  • Next course link{{NEXT_COURSE_LINK}}
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}
  • Live session URL{{LIVE_SESSION_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run naming, trademark basics and rebranding: Running a brand refresh without legal missteps training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

Before a naming project starts, at the start of a rebrand, and for new brand managers.

Who needs this training?

Brand managers, marketing leads and communications teams planning a name change or brand refresh; variant for agency-side naming teams; run by L&D with brand, marketing and legal teams.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

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Last reviewed: 21 October 2026Templates are a starting point, not legal advice.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.

See the live deck