Brand names and trademarks play a crucial role in the way most consumers and clients come to know and perceive your company. And chances are, whenever a potential customer is looking for a product to buy or service to avail themselves of, they already have a brand name in mind.
The thing, though, is that not all businesses and enterprises invest enough time and effort to secure their brand names. Some companies are taken aback by the need or requirement to register their trademarks because they think the process is too cumbersome or complex or that it’s going to cost them a lot of money. Fortunately, trademark registration online is now available, making the process more accessible and convenient.
Suppose you’re wondering how your business can benefit from registering your trademark. To give you a few ideas, here are some of the ways trademarks can protect your brand:
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Helps Create And Establish Brand Recognition
One of the ways trademarks can protect your brand is they help create and establish brand awareness and recognition. This can go a long way, especially since most people buy products they know would be worth their dollar. And more so, they buy the things they need based on the quality and price of such products. They could also rely on the words of their family or friends about which products are great to invest in.
In other words, people tend to buy products because they trust the names of those products or the companies which manufacture such goods. This happens when a company has gained enough respect and credibility in the market or a reputation for producing quality products.
To achieve this, a company’s brand and product should be recognizable in the first place. This means that your brand would be able to stand out in a sea of numerous other similar products. You can only do this if you’ve carefully marked out your brand name and product logos such that they’re clearly distinguishable from your competitors.
And in some instances, the brand name or trademark, which is a proper noun, has become so popular that people tend to use it interchangeably or as a substitute for the common noun of the product. And this goes to show the importance of trademarks in almost any business, industry, or economic sector. After all, brand recognition can go a long way in helping consumers identify which ones are your products and which aren’t.
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Protects Your Company’s Greatest Assets
Perhaps, startups wouldn’t care as much about their brand names and product logos as established brand names and business houses would. Just the same, every company knows that their buyers would only buy from them based on what they know in the marketplace about your brand.
With that in mind, it’d be worth noting that a trademark is a company’s greatest asset. This is because it’s the repository of the business goodwill which that company has earned among its buyers and consumers. In some cases, the mere sight of a company’s trademark can assure the buyer that they’re getting the same product of the same usual quality and excellent product they’ve become familiar with. And there may even be instances when they won’t inspect the product’s condition anymore. As long as they see the trademark, it would be enough assurance that they’re getting quality goods and what they’re paying for.
In addition, for companies planning to raise money by acquiring new or additional investors, it’d be nice to know that the value of your brand name or trademark is one of the things that will come up when negotiating with potential investors. A well-recognized brand can be leveraged when raising more money from venture capitalists or investors. After all, they know brand and trademark are essential components that can propel a company towards success.
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Offers Your Brand Legal Protection
Of course, other than the market brand recognition and value of your trademark in terms of business goodwill and financial leverage, a trademark also provides legal protection for your brand so that others won’t be able to copy it without facing sanctions or consequences if they do.
There are some countries and jurisdictions where you don’t have to register your trademark, as long as you’re using it regularly and consistently in the products you’re selling to the market. In those places, if another business registers a trademark that you’ve already been using, you can oppose it as long as you’ve been using the same trademark for quite some time now.
On the other hand, in some countries and jurisdictions, the person or party who first filed an application for a trademark is considered to have rights over the said trademark. In such places, it doesn’t matter whether your company has been selling products bearing such a trademark for years or even decades. This is because the person or party that first files a trademark application will have priority rights over the trademark regardless if they’re only about to start selling products having the same mark.
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Trademark Is For Life
Another way a trademark protects your brand is that it’s permanent for life. In most countries and jurisdictions, you would only have to file for periodic renewal. But the good thing is, once you’ve registered your business’s trademark, your rights to it will stay permanently protected.
This means that people can’t copy your brand name or trademark without your consent. Otherwise, you can sue them to compensate you for your losses and pay you for damages.
Wrapping Up
There are many ways by which a trademark can help protect your brand. The first thing that it does is create and establish brand recognition in favor of your products or services. A trademark also protects your company’s greatest assets, its business goodwill, which will drive more revenues and opportunities for growth for your company.
A trademark also provides your business brand with legal protection against being copied. This stops other people from cashing in on your business goodwill and reputation. And, finally, a trademark is for life though you’ll have to file some period renewals every now and then.
All these can help ensure the enterprise you’ve worked on building from the ground up.
