
New entrepreneurs who are building and advertising their brands are often asked if they have a trademark. First, what does it mean if someone asks do you have a trademark? What they are asking is if your brand has a specific marketing tool that identifies it from everyone else. For instance, the golden arches are known worldwide as a trademark registration of Mcdonald’s, just as the checkmark for the Nike swoosh and the three lines for Adidas are all universally recognized and associated with their brands. If you have a logo or advertising and marketing tool that sets you apart from others and identifies your business and product then you have a trademark.
Essentially if you have a brand, you have a trademark. However, when someone is asking you specifically if you have a trademark what they truly want to know is if you have registered your trademark with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). Once the trademark is registered with the USPTO that is when you will see the little ‘R’ with the circle around it, indicating trademark registration.
Why is Trademark Registration Essential for Your Brand?
Trademark registration is essential for your brand’s protection. Once your trademark has been successfully registered with the USPTO office the whole nation will be put on notice that this mark and brand are being used and therefore cannot be used by anyone else for the same purpose.
The USPTO is a public database that anyone can go into and see what brands are registered and being used. It is essentially a way to protect your business and prevent anyone else from stealing your brand or its identity. Essentially trademark registration is to ensure that no one else is using your brand for their own profit or benefit.
The main purpose of registering your trademark is to legally protect your brand. If you put in all the hard work, sweat, tears, money, and dedication to designing, building, and growing your brand you certainly do not want someone else to be able to steal it or profit from it. The only way to legally protect your hard work and brand is through trademark registration.
The other thing that trademark registration does is allow you to file and serve a cease and desist letter to anyone who attempts to use your trademark for their own profit or attempts to use your branding for their own products. This gives you the legal grounds to tell them they must stop and rebrand their company, it also gives you room to seek compensation if they have already profited off using your branding. If someone is using your trademarked brand essentially they are stealing your profits and can be forced to repay you the profits they stole, rebrand their business, or even completely shut their business down.
Trademark registration also helps protect you on social media. If you start seeing others on social media websites attempting to use your brand to intrigue others to click on their company, product, etc, or are using your trademarked brand to raise interest in their products or profits then you are protected. Social media sites recognize registered trademarks and will help you to protect against others trying to use your brand on their platforms and will shut their pages down.
In short, trademark registration is a very powerful tool to ensure your branding stays yours and nobody else is able to use it, steal it, or profit from your hard work. It protects your branding from being confused with anyone else’s branding and ensures you are legally protected if anyone attempts to do so.
If you do not register your trademark and your business is simply holding an LLC or DBA then there is little to no protection for your hard work, since these are types of business entities that do not offer legal protection for someone else using your branding. This means if someone in another state wants to use your brand and open a similar business in their state, they can legally do this because you did not register your brand with the USPTO and get it trademarked.
An LLC protects you on a state level and separates business and personal assets, however, it has no legal basis on a federal level. Trademark registration is used to protect your brand on a national level and prevents anyone from any location from using your brand as their own.
Business and Trademark Attorney Briana Robertson strongly recommends that anyone who is building a brand or business registers their trademark with the USPTO as it is the only way to legally protect their brand identity. This is especially important for anyone who plans to scale their business or build a large enterprise. You simply cannot scale your business or build a large enterprise if anyone is able to steal your branding or use it as their own to profit.
Are you looking for help with a trademark registration? The Law Office of Briana C. Robertson offers her expertise and help nationwide to entrepreneurs looking to protect their businesses. Schedule a consultation today to get started!
Schedule a Consultation
Are you looking for help with a trademark registration?
We offer legal help nationwide to entrepreneurs looking to protect their businesses. Schedule today to get started!
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