Benefits of Trademarking Your Business Name
A company can trademark a word, logo, symbol, design, pattern, or phrase used to distinguish the company’s products or from all similar products offered in the marketplace. Similarly, a company offering services can secure a service mark, which can also be a word, logo, symbol, design, pattern, or phrase. A service mark distinguishes a company’s services from all other services. The purposes of both types of marks is to protect against consumer confusion and counterfeiting. Both trademarks and services marks are often simply referred to as trademarks.
Registering your business name for a federal trademark or service offers numerous benefits in building and maintaining a company’s intellectual property portfolio.
Defining the Brand
A company’s business name becomes a major part of the company’s identity. The business name defines the company’s brand, including what consumers and clients think and feel when they hear the business name. A strong business name leads creating loyal customers and new opportunities for business growth. A well developed trademark not only tells customers what to expect from the company but also helps differentiate the business from its competitors.
Preventing Confusion
The primary purposes of securing trademark rights is to prevent consumer confusion in the market place. That is, a trademark helps a consumer understand that the products or services they are paying for come from the trademark holder. For instance, when you purchase a television from a particular brand, say for example Samsung or LG, you trust that the branding on the TV authenticates the source of that television. Companies who product television will ensure that their branding is on the face of that product, which ensure the quality and manufacture of that product.
Not to mention, when a new company files an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to secure a new trademark registration, one of the largest hurdles they must overcome is that their mark will not cause a likelihood of confusion with a pre-existing mark on the USPTO’s current registers.
Protection Against Legal Action
A trademark registration puts the national marketplace on notice that a company is currently using its business name. When a company acquires a trademark registration from the USPTO for its business name, it can use that registration as basis to prevent others from using the same or similar business name within its industry. A company can use a trademark registration to prevent others from using the mark by sending cease-and-desist letters or pursuing trademark infringement lawsuits against others infringing on its business name. A trademark registration also offers a company protection against legal action by third parties who may claim ownership of its business name, including associated domain names.
National Recognition
A federal trademark registration provides national protection. It also provides national recognition. Once a company acquires its business name registration, its registration becomes public and puts others on notice of the existing brand.
Protecting the Bottom Line
When a company registers its business name for a federal trademark, it protects its sales by preventing consumer confusion. That is, the company ensures that no other company can use the same or a similar name to sells a similar product, where customers might think they are buying from the original company instead competitors or counterfeiters.
Securing Investors
When a company approaches investors for funding, a trademark registration can encourage investors to consider the company because a trademark registration helps prove ownership. In some cases, investors may require the company to obtain a trademark before investing in the business.
Selling with Third Parties
Companies who are interested in selling their products on third party websites (e.g., Amazon, NewEgg, Facebook, etc.) or in third party physical stores (e.g., grocery stores, department store, etc.) often need to secure trademark protection before they can sell their products through the third party’s website or location. Securing a trademark registration legitimizes the company for the third party vendor.
CONSIDERATIONS
Registering a company’s business name for a federal trademark is not required in order for a company to have common law trademark rights. A registered trademark, however, can provide greater protection for a company’s brand while helping it build its brand and drive business growth.
What to learn more about the benefits of trademarking your business name? Contact the Antares Law Firm today.
—Laila Ghauri, Esq., Principal Attorney, Antares Law Firm
