Trademarks are a way of protecting your individual property from infringement by other parties without your explicit permission or knowledge. Trademarks are essential if you have a business and you want to ensure that no one else uses your brand name or logo. The owner of a trademark can be a legal entity, a business organization, or an individual. The basic function of a trademark is to identify you as the original owner of your property.
You need to research a good logo for your business before trademarking so that other companies will find it difficult to make a similar logo or replicate your logo. You can even trademark other aspects of your business besides the brand name and logo, such as a unique shape, color, or smell that customers associate with your brand. By protecting your intellectual property with a trademark, you can take up the case in a court of law if there are violations.
A business invests plenty of time and money on marketing their brand and logo, and this causes a huge loss to the organization when a discrepancy occurs. You will also need to rethink the whole marketing strategy for your business as well as fight a lengthy legal battle in a court of law that consumes a good deal of time and money. Through this article, let us get to know 7 of the most important things you must do to protect your trademark.
7 Important Things You Must Do To Protect Your Trademark
1. Choosing A Strong Mark
The trademark is also the first contact point for a customer to your business, and you can avoid the hassles of a willing or unwilling infringement by choosing a strong trademark. You can not use an offensive or disparaging term for your trademark, and if you never use a trademark in your business, you can not register the same. Having a mark that is too similar to that of another business will confuse the minds of your customers, which will lead to a loss in brand value.
You also can not use generic words as a mark, and descriptive words offer little protection as their use is by expressing a concept. Arbitrary trademarks use arbitrary terms, and fanciful trademarks use terms that the owners invent, and hence they offer a high level of protection. However, you will need to educate your customers on your brand as the terms do not give an idea about the business until you establish and gain popularity.
2. Checking For Existing Trademarks
Before preparing for a trademark, it is important to do your research on whether it is available. You will need to spend on non-refundable government applications for the registration of the trademark, and doing the check will allow you to avoid unnecessary expenditure. You must also refrain from doing a free trademark search as these can be inefficient and probably a marketing ploy.
You can search on the United States Patent And Trademark Patent website in the Trademark Electronic Search System for searching the trademarks which are similar to yours. You will also need to use the design code search manual for considering the trademarks which contain design elements. It is also important to keep in mind that not all trademarks are available in the Trademark Electronic Search System and you will need to do a separate search for foreign trademarks as well.
3. Register Your Trademark
If your trademark search is revealing that no one else is using your trademark, you can proceed to start the registration process by applying. You need to register the trademark with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. Once you register, they will upload it to the Trademark Electronic Search System. You will need to provide a brochure or label with the trademark as well as an image of the trademark for the registration process.
You must avoid waiting to register your mark as another business can register with the mark you intend to use before you complete the registration process. You can also hire an attorney who is familiar with the process to do the task of registering as it can be a waste of money and time if you make mistakes in the process. You may also enquire about any doubts you may have regarding the process such as how to trademark a phrase with your attorney before commencing the process.
4. Registering Your Social Handles
You will be severely compromising the ability to market your brand through social media handles if you are unable to match your brand name with that on your social media profile. Nowadays, the significant portion of marketing takes place as digital marketing and primarily through the various social media platforms. If you have a different name on your social media handle, your customer may not be able to find you on social media platforms.
5. Check For Infringements
After registering your trademark with the USPTO, you will need to continually monitor the new registrations for any possible infringements. Some organizations may even use your mark or business name without registering in the portal.
6. Policing Your Mark
If you notice any infringements on your trademark, you must act quickly to stop the perpetrators from using your mark further. Depending on the type of infringement, there are several ways to police your rights. You can issue a cease and desist letter or sue the organization in the court for using a similar trademark.
7. Keep The Renewal Dates In Mind
You will only receive a single reminder from the USPTO saying that the deadline for your renewal is approaching. Therefore, you must keep tabs on the renewal date to avoid losing your trademark by the expiry of the valid date.
Conclusion
When you are a business owner, you need to register your business immediately with the common trademark protection law for protecting your business and logo. This is the first and foremost step that you must necessarily take for safeguarding your business profits and preventing others from using your logo and name. Trademarks are a vital part of any business for their long term success.
It is also crucial to keep in mind that a trademark has a duration of validity after which you need to renew the trademark. You can effectively protect your trademark by intelligent use of new technologies that let you monitor if anyone is using your trademark without your permission. You can also avail of the services of a lawyer who has good knowledge of trademark laws for protecting your rights.
