5 Reasons Why You Should Trademark Your Brand

When people start businesses, they often focus on the more exciting stuff like web design, marketing, and branding (ahem, I’m speaking from personal experience here). Unfortunately, they also tend to ignore the less-sexy parts of being a brand owner, like legal and administrative matters.

Addressing legal matters sooner rather than later can save you a lot of time and trouble down the road. Case in point- trademarks. 

Trademarks are an area of legal protection that might seem unimportant when you launch a new business, but sorting them out early could prevent a lot of heartbreak and MONEY in the long run. 

Trademark vs Copyright

The terms “trademark” and “copyright” are often confused and used interchangeably. But they are distinct concepts, so distinct in fact, that they are handled by different branches of the government. 

A copyright is meant to protect some kind of intellectual or creative work, like a book, play, software code, or piece of music. Trademarks apply to a company’s name, product names, slogans, and logos. In other words, a trademark is meant to protect a company’s brand identity. 

Trademarks were originally introduced so that brands could have their names protected from mimics and subpar copycats, and to mitigate confusion among consumers. 

Sometimes the line between trademarked and copyrighted goods is blurred. For example, the Disney character Mickey Mouse has both trademark and copyright protections. Copyright protects intellectual works, while trademarks protect “distinctive signs or indicators.” But don’t let that blurring turn you away from protecting yourself legally by getting a trademark settled. 

5 Reasons You Should Trademark Your Creative Brand 

1. Trademarks allow you to expand

Picture this:

You have just opened a burger joint named Burger X, but you don’t trademark the name. 

Business goes well the first year, and you are ready to expand into the neighbouring states. Only, when you try, you learn that another company with the same name is trying to expand too. 

Worse, still, they have a federal trademark which trumps any common-law basis you have for claiming a trademark. Now you are confined to no business growth and no expansion. 

This is what happened to Burger King, wherein a small family-owned restaurant named Burger King wanted to expand into a different state but found out that another restaurant (the Burger King we know today) had already filed a federal trademark on the name.

 So, filing a trademark early can prevent these kinds of occurrences. Don’t miss your opportunity to expand your business because you postponed the trademark process.   

2. Trademarks prevent liability issues

Even if you don’t file a federal commercial trademark, you can still have what is called a “common-law” trademark, i.e. an unregistered trademark. Normally, an unregistered trademark is limited to a geographic area. But, if some other company contests the name/logo/brand, then you will have to prove that you had been using the name before the other company. This can be hard to do if you have not been keeping track of your business, and going to court can cost you time and money. 

If you file a federal trademark, then you are the presumed owner of the trademarked item. Moreover, after just 5 years, you will become the incontestable owner of the trademark which means you won’t have to prove that you own the company name in court because the federal trademark proves that for you. Worse still, if you don’t get a trademark, you might learn the hard way that you picked a name already trademarked, and are therefore infringing upon someone else’s registered trademark. 

3. Trademarks protect you from copycats

The last thing you want is a competitor piggy-backing off your success, brand name/identity. There is a big problem with product names being lifted and cheap imitations products being sold under them. A trademark will prevent any other company from leeching off your success and taking advantage of your brand’s goodwill and reputation. This will also prevent you from becoming associated with any unsavoury ventures. 

If you have a federally registered trademark, then you can file a lawsuit against any companies that infringe on your right. Many small businesses and local creators end up having their products co-opted and stolen, and they do not have trademarks and they end up struggling not to expand the business, or capitalize upon the hard work they have put in, but struggling to salvage the brand identity from nefarious actors. 

4. Trademarks make it easier for customers to find you

Imagine a world with no trademarks. You search online for your favourite brand of cereal Corn Flakes. You get back thousands of companies, each of which uses the same logos, branding, names, and images. How on earth could you figure out which brand it is that you like?

Trademarks make it easier for customers to find you and your business. If a name is trademarked, then customers searching for the name can be sure that you are in fact the business they are looking for. Having a trademark name also improves traffic as all search results related to the name redirect to your company. 

5. Trademarks can last forever

Unlike patents or copyrights, trademarks technically never expire. AS LONG AS the company continues to use the name or logo AND satisfies the necessary USPTO maintenance requirements, the trademark remains in effect.  

Many famous brands have been trademarked for over a century. Pepsi’s logo was registered in 1896 and the Mercedes trademark was registered in 1900. So, if you file a trademark, you never have to worry about it expiring. As long as you continue to use the trademarked thing, the protections are still provided. 

So to conclude...

In the end, trademarks are an often overlooked area of business, but it really should be one of the earlier things you consider when you start a new business. Filing for a trademark early will protect you in the long run and give you peace of mind. It can take almost a year to get a trademark registered (average is about 9-10 months processing time), but it is well worth the effort for the protection you get in return.