This article was written by John Williams of Entrepreneur.com. John is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world's first and largest DIY logo Web site.
Establishing a strong brand is pivotal to business success. Protecting that brand is equally important. Yet many small businesses overlook an important first step in securing their brand: trademarks.
What Can Be Trademarked?
A trademark is any unique word, symbol, name or device used to identify and distinguish the goods of one seller from the goods of another -- think
Nike's swoosh, for example. A trademark allows the seller to protect what's trademarked from use and/or misuse by competitors while building brand loyalty among repeat customers. Trademarks also help prevent confusion or manipulation of consumers, who come to associate distinct attributes -- in particular, quality -- with a distinct brand.
From a branding perspective, the following are assets that can be protected: logos, names, tag lines and packaging. However, these assets can only be trademarked if they meet certain qualifications. A word or phrase that's commonly used or already connected with another product or service in the same industry cannot be trademarked. For example, a generic term like "search engine" can't be trademarked, but a unique name, like
Google, can be. However, if your name is generic but used in an industry not typically related to the meaning of the term, you may be able to trademark it. A good example would be
Apple Computer.
As a general rule, you can trademark your business name if you use it when advertising directly to your customers. If you don't use your business name in direct communication with your customers, you probably can't, because you're not connecting your name to your brand and its attributes. If your business name will be a large part of your marketing, you should consider trademarking it.
Entrepreneur.com
RSS
