Written by: Tracy J. Hoffman, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I know most of you will say no, never!
As businesses or creators, we know that our brand is our most important asset. We invest a lot in it, build awareness, buy beautiful graphic designs, and we put everything we got into our brand. Because we know our brand makes us unique, so the customers can find us and love to buy from us, and keep coming back.
We all know this.
So how can it ever be a waste of time and money?
A common way many start a business is to come up with a name they like, registering the business, getting a domain, finding someone to do a logo, or create one themselves. And start building the brand.
And boom!! Off they go!! Happily start building their brand.
Now.
Did you consider making sure you can protect as a Trademark? Does your name or logo infringe on someone else’s rights? Can your business name be too descriptive?
If you didn't consider this, let me assure you that you are not alone, and if you did, you are more prepared than most business owners are.
Here is the kicker, if you didn't consider those things, there is a risk you will not get Trademark protection for your brand. There is a risk someone else had it registered and can shut you down online, and there is a risk that the money and time you spent on building your brand was a waste. You may lose it all, or at least a lot. You will have to start your branding from zero again.
Honestly, there is a chance to keep your brand. Even If you don’t protect it as a Trademark, you have some ownership. Still, if you don't search if it is available before you start using it, someone else can already have it and force you to stop using it. If you have built your brand for years, you can claim that it's well-known, but if someone else registers your name as their Trademark, you might have to face legal processes and fees before getting it back. The person filing your name as a trademark can, during that period, make a mess and shut down your digital platforms if they have proof that they are the owner.
I recently read about a case where a business finally took off, and their competitor saw that they didn't have the brand registered as a trademark. The competitor filed for the Trademark and managed to shut them down online! You can imagine them feeling hopeless. I saw them asking for advice in one of the Intellectual property groups online. I don't know how the story ended. Still, I know how it could have been avoided.
To help you, I have listed some of the most common mistakes I have seen.
Choosing a descriptive name, if a business name is too descriptive, you can’t protect it as a trademark. The reason is that you can't distinguish it from other businesses. You can't prevent others from having similar products or services like you or to promote themselves and claiming infringement. If I am a coffee producer, for instance, I can't name my coffee "The Coffee." But if I am making shoes, I can call it "The Coffee" since it has nothing to do with the actual product. The same goes for services. You can't call yourself "the mindset coach" as your brand. If you are a coach, instead, you can use your name as a brand and register it as a Trademark.
You are using a template to make the logo the same as many others in the same field of service. I have seen this many times. What happens is that when you want to protect your logo, someone else might have already done it using your template. So I understand we might want to do it ourselves, but using professional help is better.
Coming up with a well-known cool name, unless you have a license or cooperation with the owner of that brand, is infringement. What usually happens is that you get contacted and asked to change it, and your digital platforms can get shut down. You can get into legal issues and costs too. Still, in general, it just gets taken down, which is a problem if you have put work into your online presence and marketing. Many celebrities have trademarked their name to avoid someone else doing it.
Thinking that this only concerns big businesses, it doesn't. Small businesses grow. As a small business owner, you can't afford to lose the time and money. It will cost you losing your brand and confusing your customers.
You may think that you protected your brand when you did a business registration or bought a domain. But it is not the same thing as Trademark protection. The business registration is more local registration, not national. Even if they may consider it before approving Trademarks, it will still not be sufficient protection. The reason is when you protect your Trademark. You are getting protection for all your goods and services in a specific way thru classification.
So what can you do?
Check if your name and logo is available to protect, don't use templates to create your logo,
Check if the name is descriptive or not, how to classify your goods or services (this may require assistance from an expert), how to file.
The fee for Trademark registration is usually not very high. It may vary depending on the country, and the first registration fee is valid for ten years. Then it can be renewed ten years at a time forever as long as you pay the fees.
To me, it's a cheap price considering what you may risk paying if you lose your brand.
Follow me on Social Media if you want to know more about protecting your brand as a Trademark and how to manage other Intellectual Property rights. There will also soon be courses and workshops to help you.
Now, what do you think, can building your brand be a waste of time and money?
Disclaimer, please note that even if many of the Intellectual Property laws are similar globally, there can always be differences between countries. Do not use this article as legal advice. Please rely on your local IP office when it comes to the last steps in filing the application for your business in the best way. I cannot be held responsible for any legal action you take or not take after reading my article.
Tracy J. Hoffman, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Tracy J Hoffman is a coach/advisor/speaker and her areas are learn how to protect your brand as a Trademark and manage other Intellectual Property, Leadership, and Career building she has a unique understanding of how to read and understand the client/situation and to communicate her knowledge by breaking down the complicated areas and simplify. She has a background working at the Swedish Intellectual Property office with International Training Programs in Intellectual Property for 6 years and as a representative for the Employees at the same office coaching employees and leaders, in reorganizations, conflicts and negotiations and she has been working herself up from unqualified to qualified positions, that is why she understands the challenges in all these areas very well. Her mission is to empower businesses and people by helping them to grow, manage their rights and have tools to stand up for themselves when necessary and understand how to solve challenges.
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