Suzanne writes in her latest newsletter:
“If I choose a name, can I just use it without trademark registration? What happens if I don’t register my brand as a trademark?
These questions have a ‘Yes’ answer – but with a caveat. If you do this, you run the risk of using a brand that someone else has already registered, so you could be sued for trademark infringement and even lose your business.
Or you could establish the business through years of hard work, only to see one of your competitors copy your brand. It would then be up to you to prove that you had sufficient reputation in the brand to stop the competitor from using the same (or something very similar) because it was causing confusion in the marketplace.
This is Alison’s story …
Alison* came to me because she had received a letter from someone telling her that she was infringing his trademark registration. He offered to license the use of his mark to her, but otherwise she had to stop using the name she had been using for 18 months.
As you can imagine, Alison was not happy about this!
Alison had only done business name searches and found that no one had the same name as the one she had chosen. She saw that there were a few names that were similar, so she added a word and it was registered as a business name – great! – Alison had her name and off she went building her business.
So when Alison received this letter she was at first surprised, then thought: ‘No way! This is my name and I’m using it.’
Alison didn’t understand that had she had some trademark specialist research done on the name, she would have been told that someone else had a trademark registration for a very similar name in the same industry. That would have automatically sent warning bells about that name and she would have avoided the stress and costs of the position in which she now found herself.
Having been alerted to the fact that there was already a trademark registration for that brand for the same services, Alison could have chosen another name for her business. After discussing the options and the costs to fight, Alison decided to rebrand.
There is a happy ending to this story! During the rebranding process, Alison decided to expand her target market; which she would not have been able to do with the brand she had been using.
The whole experience was not good for her budget; nor was the distraction from her business a good thing. Having to change your brand can be a very expensive and time-consuming exercise that can easily be avoided by setting up your business brand in the right way from Day 1.
The same rule applies not only for your business name but also for book titles, computer apps, food products, and clothing brands – basically any product that has a great unique name!
TIPS:
– Ensure you are not naming a business or product with a trademark that is already owned by someone else in your industry.
– Ensure you have the right trademark application filed so you own the name and can protect it from your competitors once registration is granted.
We highly recommend using the services of a Trademark Specialist before investing too much time, money and energy into a brand and expanding any registration through the Madrid Protocol process. This can save thousands of dollars by avoiding use of a competitor’s trade mark or filing a trademark application when there is little or no likelihood of the name achieving registration.
If you are looking at a new brand for a business, product or service, Pinnacle TMS can provide you with their unique Initial Protection Review and Strategy Report on that name to give you peace of mind to secure the name and grow your brand in the marketplace.
Contact Suzanne now to find out more to get the protection you need for your trademarks.”
* Alison is not her real name
This is a copy of an article in the latest newsletter from Pinnacle TMS
