The Trademarks and reputation that brands represent to a large extent, has a huge influence on the purchasing decisions of consumers. You may not realize this, but it is true that everyone deals with trademarks on a daily basis. This is why prominent brands have invested wisely in the registration of their brand names as a trademark.
What is a Trademark?
According to Investopedia, the term trademark refers to a recognizable insignia, phrase, word, or symbol that denotes a specific product and legally differentiates it from all other products of its kind. It allows customers to identify a business as the source of a product or service.
The earlier you secure ownership of your brand name by trademarking it, the better! This is because a trademarked brand name is the most valuable intangible asset of any brand/company. It is also important to note that trademarking is not only applicable to trade names, it also includes symbols, marks, slogans, and combinations of words, amongst other things, that can identify a business, commercial entity, or organization.
Importance of Trademarking Your Brand Name
The importance, benefits, and gains of trademarking your brand name can never be over-emphasized. Entrepreneurs and business owners must understand that trademark is an important asset that can help to grow their business. Here are the some reasons of why trademarks are important to your business.
- Identity:
Due to how saturated the marketplace has become, differentiating your business from your competitors has become pretty difficult. Your brand name could be the critical factor in driving a customer’s purchase decision, and that is why trademarking your brand name is an efficient commercial tool to capture the attention of your clients and potential clients and, of course, make your business, products, and services stand out.
- Protection:
Incorporating your business name with the relevant body does not prevents other persons from registering a business with a similar name to yours. It does not guarantee the protection of the intellectual property in the name. This is why it is important for you to register the trademark of your brand name so as to protect the intellectual property in the unique product associated with your brand/product from your direct competitors giving similar offerings. This will protect your brand from being sued by others who use similar assets.
- Equity:
It helps you build equity within your industry by showing people that you’re credible and trustworthy. This means that if another brand tries to imitate your product or service, they’ll have a hard time convincing customers to buy their version because they won’t have the same name recognition as yours, just like it is hard for any other brand to copy or steal any product or design of Apple, Nike or any other trademarked brand.
- Communication:
A trademarked brand name is an effective communication tool that conveys the intellectual and emotional messages of a brand’s reputation, products and services. Regardless of whether your brand is a word or a design, it can be recognized regardless of language or alphabet. For example, Adidas design is recognized globally, regardless of whether the native language is Spanish, Russian, Arabic or English.
- Asset:
Trademarks are a property asset, similar to real estate, that can be bought, sold, licensed or used as a security interest to secure a loan to grow your business.
The more your business reputation grows, the more valuable your brand will be. They can lead the way for expansion from one industry to another, such as from personal care to clothing.
- Lifetime Ownership:
If you do not own the registered trademark rights of your brand name, someone else might stop you from using it. Losing a brand can cost everything in a company because you would be losing the intangible assets that support the place you have in the market. That means your customer’s trust, which oftentimes is extremely hard to get back. With a registered trademark you can be certain this case will never occur.
- Legal Protection:
A brand name is often the most valuable asset of any brand though intangible. This is the way your target market will tell you apart from your competitors. Also, this is the asset that will become the repository of your market trust and serve as the emblem of your business growth and consolidation. Therefore, it is very important to register your brand name as a trademark.
Dangers of not Trademarking your Brand Name
Registering your brand name as a trademark is not mandatory. However, there are several risks in leaving your brand legally unprotected.
Nobody likes to fight in court in order to keep their company name, but it keeps happening to brands across the world.
For example:
In 2016, a lawsuit by The 3M company against Changzhou Huawei Advanced Material Co Ltd for the use of 3N resulted in a win for 3M and “significant damages” for 3M. It was ultimately ruled that, despite some dissimilarities in products and pricing, the notoriety of the 3M mark and the fact that 3N had managed to acquire clients and market share by use of the similar mark, constituted infringement.
You should try as much as possible to avoid such a nightmare from happening to your brand by understanding what you need to know about trademarks and how to really go about them.
The competition for brand registration is global and fierce. It is more important than ever to register your trademark, so you can prevent your brand from being exposed to legal problems in the future.
Where someone proceeds to register your brand name in the instance where one has been carrying out a business with a brand but failed to register same, they might own it irrespective of the fact that you had used it prior to the registration. You could try to reclaim it, but the cost of resolving the issue will probably stop your growth plan. In extreme cases, it can put you out of business. Hence, it is crucial to stake your claim and own the exclusive rights to your brand name immediately.
Conclusion
Registering your brand name as a trademark is the most secure way to give your brand legal protection against competitors and third parties, as well as prevent competition from usurping the market credibility your brand has built since it was established.
Think of the kind of pain that comes with having to start everything all over again with a new name. Well, that could happen to you if you don’t trademark your brand.