A firm’s names, brand, and innovative ideas offer commercial value that are susceptible to attack by copycats looking to steal this value for their gain.
The more valuable your brands and names will be, the more vital it is to ensure you are taking the proper steps to safeguard the intellectual properties of your business. A good starting point is making sure that your brand name is secure.
This is especially important when you grant permission to agents or distributors to utilize your name or if they are selling your branded goods and services. If you’re entering into a joint venture or inviting a venture capitalist to invest in your company, you could be required to prove that your brand names are secure.
Establishing an enterprise requires lots of work. Ultimately, you’ve put in a lot of time and effort. This is why safeguarding your business is crucial. If you’re trying to figure out how do you protect a brand name and protect your business, we’re here to assist you.
What Is The Significance Of Your Brand Name?
Your brand’s name is often the first thing customers see about your business. This is why it is crucial to create an identity that is genuine, memorable, and unique.
It should be different from an existing brand name, or else it may confuse your group of customers. In addition, copying an existing brand name can expose you to liability. You require a distinct brand name that your customers can easily recognize and establish an enduring image.
How to Protect a Brand Name and Logo?
To maintain your brand’s image, you need to protect your brand’s name and other intellectual property, including trade dress, inventions, design rights, and many more. Any negative effect on your brand’s image can seriously affect your brand’s image or revenue as well as its overall value. Let’s see some Brand protection examples.
File a Trademark for the Brand Name
The first and most important step you should take to protect your brand is to file a trademark application to protect the brand name. In most cases, you should file for a word mark for the exact words that comprise your brand. A trademark registration will allow you to exclude others from using the brand name in certain circumstances, which is extremely powerful. There are many other advantages to a trademark registration, which you can find elsewhere on our site.
Register Your Domain Name
Domain names are an essential element of any brand’s image in the present. Once you have a company name, you should search for and register a domain. Even if you wait to launch an online presence, securing the domain name you’d like is essential.
Copyright Your Brand’s Visual Elements, Product Images
In addition to considering patents and trademarks, consider a comprehensive approach to protecting your brand’s name, including any possible copyrights. Obtaining copyright protection for the visual elements of your brand can provide powerful protections.
Purchase All Domain Extensions
If you’re interested in safeguarding your brand, consider buying .net, .org, and .io and common misspellings of your business’s name using the .com domain name extension. The purchase of domain names will ensure your brand’s identity from competition and Domain name resellers.
Additionally, setting up a redirect to your appropriate domain will help you capture direct traffic from those who enter the incorrect spelling .com in their web browser. If you are a new startup, consider purchasing these domains for a year, with auto-renew.
Establish clear restrictions for IP licensing
It is essential to create precise procedures for licensing intellectual property rights to third parties. In the case of later franchises or licensing contracts, make sure that the financial and legal terms for the association are clearly stated on paper and have been written and reviewed by legal experts.
Take Action Immediately If You Notice an Infringement
Usually, you’ll start with a cease-and-desist notice to the business or individual that uses your company’s name or logo. The letter will explain your ownership of the trademark, request the person to cease using it, and inform them that if they do not cease their infringement you’ll be required to pursue legal action. You should contact your attorney to draft and send a proper cease-and-desist letter.
Frequently Ask Questions
What Can I Do To Ensure My Brand Name Legal Protection?
A trademark protects your company’s name as well as your products and services on a national scale. A trademark can stop others from the similar sector across the United States (and if international protection is pursued, in many other countries) from using your trademarked name.
Does an LLC help protect Your Brand Name?
LLCs don’t safeguard brand names or business names. That means someone can utilize your brand name, and you won’t be legally able to prevent it by using an LLC. An LLC is an organization that allows you to structure your company for tax and liability reasons. It is necessary to have a trademark to secure your name and prevent anyone else from using the name.
What Is The Cost Of Securing Your Brand Name?
If you apply to trademark your company’s name at a national level with the USPTO You should pay between $750 and $2000.
Conclusion
Protecting brand namesa requires a multi-faceted approach, which includes registration of trademarks, copyrights, and domain name registration, implementing anti-counterfeiting strategies and monitoring for any unauthorized usage as well as taking action if needed.