Why Are Trademarks So Valuable For Small Businesses?

Nowadays, we are seeing many people invest in personal business endeavors. The ease of e-commerce has provided an attractive market for entrepreneurs.

Because of the increase in small business efforts, your company’s unique name, logo, symbols, and designs should have legal protection.

1. Provides Owners With Exclusive Rights

Until a trademark has been registered at the federal level, it is possible that a competing business may claim it for their own use. As a business owner, the lack of legal protection could result in having your original mark infringed upon by another company. If this were the case, there is no way to argue that the mark is yours because it hasn’t been registered.

Additionally, it is entirely possible that the trademark you created may already be in existence. The mark you created and believe to be unique may already be registered or pending registration by a different company. You could be accidentally plagiarizing their mark and not realize it!

The best way to prevent these types of issues is to register your trademark as soon as possible.

2. Helps Build The Reputations of Brands

Consider a trademark like the iconic Coca-Cola red and white scripted logo. When you see it, even at a distance, you instantly recognize the brand. This example describes how the visibility of a trademark allows customers to spot and recognize your brand in a crowded marketplace.

Recognizable trademarks also help build a brand’s overall reputation. An effective trademark can influence the buying decisions of consumers and bring to mind positive, powerful messages about your brand. These marks can work to define your brand and portray your brands mission.

3. Symbolizes Your Identity

Trademarks are often the identifying symbol of your business. The original names, phrases, symbols, logos, and designs that you create for your business help to identify your products and services. Consumers will be able to distinguish your offerings from that of competing businesses due to memorable trademarks.

If you are new to starting a small business, you may confuse trademarks with the concept of copyrights. It is true that both are forms of intellectual property protection. However, copyrights do not protect names, slogans, or logos. Instead, a copyright helps protect an original work of authorship. This applies to literary works like fiction novels, performing arts like music compositions and lyrics, virtual arts like artwork and illustrations, photographs, motion pictures, and architectural works. The creator of these works is considered to be its author and may file for copyright registration.

How to register for a trademark?

Ideally, you should file for trademark registration as soon as possible. However, prior to filing a trademark application, you’ll need to verify that your mark is indeed unique. You can easily complete the many tasks associated with the trademark process with help from a trademark attorney.

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