Building a strong brand is critical to your future sales and business success. Protecting that brand and the products and/or services it stands for is equally important. Yet many businesses overlook an important step in protecting their intellectual property: Trademarks.
A trademark is any unique word, name, symbol, slogan, sound or design that distinguishes the goods or services of one company from the goods or services of another. Registering your brand gives you exclusive rights to market and sell the products and services.
If you’re still thinking about whether to protect your brand with trademark registration, here are more reasons why you should apply for a trademark. If you don’t know the process you can check out different platforms and sites and even get help from those companies.
1. Trademarks Essentially Last Forever
Unlike copyrights and patents, trademarks do not expire. They will last as long as you continue to use it in connection with the goods and/services with which the trademark is associated. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) requires that trademarks be renewed or restored every 10 years following the date of registration. If you don’t renew or restore your trademark after 10 years, the expiration process begins.
Some famous companies with trademarks that have lasted more than 100 years include King Arthur Flour, Colgate, Stella Artois, Twinings Tea, Shell Oil, and Bass Ale to name a few.
2. It Protects Your IP Against Competitors and Potential Infringement
A trademark protects ownership rights over the slogan, name, logo, design or whatever you have trademarked. Once you have trademarked your brand, the brand is protected, declared uncontestable and no other business can use it.
Registering a trademark gives you exclusive rights to use the trademark to sell goods and services connected to the trademark within a specific geographical area. If a business steals or uses your Intellectual Property without your knowledge or consent, you can take legal action. This allows you to collect money for damages and attorney fees if you prevail in your case. Here are some famous trademark cases that prove applying for a trademark is the route to take if you want to protect your IP against competitors and infringement.
3. Trademarks Evoke Brand Loyalty
Trademarking your brand helps create a bond with your customers that leads to customer loyalty. It distinguishes your products and services from competitors which helps capture your customer’s attention. Consumers viewing your trademark immediately know who they are dealing with, your business’s reputation and are more likely to stay.
Applying for a trademark means that you’re in business for the long haul. This reassures your customers that you are committed to the business.
4. Trademarks Are Now Inexpensive and Much Easier
Trademarking something is inexpensive and very easy. In the US, anyone who establishes priority in a name or symbol is considered the owner of it. In simple words, if you are the first organization to use a certain name or symbol to identify your goods or services, you do not have to register it to have rights over it. However, you are required to include the symbol, TM, to the name or symbol to show you are claiming rights.
Worth mentioning, this isn’t a substitute for applying for a trademark through the USPTO, which gives you legal ownership.
The more you differentiate your brand from others in the marketplace, the easier it is to protect. And registering your trademark gives you this incredible advantage.