Trademarks are a form of protection for Intellectual Property (IP) elements that help distinguish a brand from others in the same niche.
In short, a trademark covers things like words, text, symbols, recognizable insignia, and more that help customers and business partners recognize your brand by simply looking at the visual design.
For instance, brands like Nike or Tesla (just to name a few) have trademarked their logos and mottos in order to make sure no one else can use them without their permission.
Even more, a company can register their business name or trade name for protection under trademark law as well.
Additionally, a trademark can be sold, so it is definitely worth the effort of going through the application process.
To make things easier, you don’t need a Registered trademark (signified with Ⓡ) to be protected. It’s enough to have the ™ letters attached to the trademark (unregistered trademarks). This signifies the owner is using common law to protect their interests.
Why Use Trademarks?
Besides the fact that it can become a valuable business asset in time, the main value of a trademark stands in the protection it provides.
Here’s how:
Protect Brand Identity
Once you have a trademark, you can prevent other businesses and individuals from using your brand name and insignia on their products. Even more, people can’t use confusingly similar elements that may trick people into thinking they are buying your products.
While this may seem unlikely when you’re just starting, as the brand gets successful, other businesses will try to capitalize on your progress.
This often happens in Southern Europe which is why Maltese business owners are often reading through this Malta company formation page to see what steps they should take. It will explain how to protect their brand from start to finish and it’s definitely worth looking into.
They usually do so by imitating products, insignia, or copying other elements that make customers think they’ll receive similar quality and service (only to be disappointed).
Protect Business Reputation
Trademarks help represent your brand in front of the world and protect your hard-earned reputation.
With this tool, businesses can distinguish their actions and products from others in the market, which is extremely useful in a highly competitive world.
Additionally, when you have a trademark, it’s easier to take legal action and defend your investment in the quality of products or services. This way, customers also feel protected since they will gain trust in what your brand represents.
Encourage Collaboration
Brands working together to build new products that appeal to different audiences is not new, but it’s more common nowadays. And trademarks make this process a lot easier. Businesses and entrepreneurs can buy the right to use a specific trademark in order to create more attractive products.
Let’s take LEGO as an example. Their representatives often buy the rights to use Star Wars, Marvel, or DC Comics insignia on their special edition products in order to attract fans of these franchises.
As a result, there is a new product in the market that appeals to people who may not have an interest in LEGO.
Branding
When used correctly, trademarks support the ascension of a brand name and help protect the business’s interests.
Let’s take Kleenex or Adidas as an example. These are brands, but they got so powerful that they almost replace the noun that was used to define the product (tissues and sneakers).
However, they couldn’t have done that without the protection of several trademarks.
Key Takeaways
Trademarks are a method to protect and support the brand you’ve worked so hard to build. However, if you’re thinking about applying for a trademark, it’s best to ask for professional legal advice.
An attorney specialized in this field will be able to provide guidance and help with the documentation and other aspects that are a bit confusing to regular people.
It will also give you the peace of mind that your request will be accepted, which frees your time and brain to work on building the brand.
