TRADEMARKS: THE WHEN, WHY, AND HOW GUIDE FROM TRADEMARK BROTHERS
Written by Mo Abbas from The Trademark Brothers
You may have read countless blogs and articles on the ins and outs of trademarks, from what they are, to how much they cost and all manner of other interesting things.
Whilst those details are important what’s often missed is the when, why and how of trademark protection. I mean the nuts and bolts of making trademarks work to your advantage.
So here it is. Three key questions answered on trademarks to help you decide what is right for your business.
When should you trademark?
Here’s the crux of it; why at a time when cash flow may be tight should your business spend money on an intangible asset that may not appear to impact day-to-day operations?
The correct answer depends entirely on your circumstances and ambitions, and cliches abound in the best answers (in our experience lawyers, like to flitter between “the early bird, catches the worm” and “the sooner the better”).
These tiptoe around the often brutal truth; that if you invest time, expertise and money into creating a brand your customers value but choose not to register a trademark then you are building your success upon a foundation of sand (those cliches catch on - sorry).
Why?
Aren’t things always better explained with examples? Say there are two new companies based on opposite sides of the UK selling boutique party hats.
Now just by chance, one company is called “Sparkles Parties” and the latter “Parties by Sparkles”. Both grow well beyond expectations before looking to expand nationally.
Now 'Sparkles Parties' takes time to look at its IP strategy and invests in a trademark in tandem with their big national push. 'Parties by Sparkles' tries to hit the ground running, aiming to get their boutique party hats in stores nationwide as quickly as possible.
How do you think this story ends?
Being proactive is an admirable quality, and as entrepreneurs that go-do attitude is invaluable to unlocking our potential. But in the example above 'Parties by Sparkles' neglects its Intellectual Property assets and faces a bleak future.
The newly registered trademark owners at 'Sparkles Parties' claim against them (something technically referred to as ‘infringement’) and they must cease to sell those goods under their current name.
An expensive rebrand looms and all that good work is undone just to avoid a small outlay and a bit of planning at the start.
This is not an uncommon scenario (although it usually happens with slightly more imaginative business names) as similar brands regularly appear in competitive and crowded markets and readily create confusion for customers over whose goods they are buying.
The trademark system is designed to prevent this confusion. So, it’s time to make this system work for you.
How?
The technical side of it all. Do two key things:
Choose exactly what your customers use to recognise your products (a logo, a name, etc.)
Decide what classes of goods you’re going to sell under this logo, name, etc.
Start the process with support from a professional
Job done.
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