Everyone, whether they realize it or not, works with trademarks daily.
It is one of the most effective ways to refer to a brand. However, many business owners are unaware of the importance of trademarks in today’s digital world.
A trademark and the reputation it represents affect customers’ buying decisions.
As a result, small business owners must understand the significance of trademark protection. Here are the top nine reasons why every business needs trademark registration.
What Is A Trademark?
A trademark might be a name, phrase, motto, symbol, or logo that is registered to your business. It safeguards your reputation and helps in intellectual property protection.
Essentially, it’s a superb method to identify your company from competitors. So, if you don’t register a trademark, you risk losing the rights to your own concept, design, and all the creative energy you’ve invested in it.
Trademarks protect your ideas from infringement by other companies, but unlike other forms of intellectual property, their primary legal function is distinct. The principal aim of a patent or copyright is to lay claim to a product.
At the same time, the primary objective of a trademark is to give customer protection by reducing the possibility of customers mistaking one firm or service for another.
Trademark And Your Brand
A trademark is integral to a brand’s business model and strategy. It includes your brand identity, reputation, and distinctiveness. The market is congested, and every small business competes for customers’ cash through aggressive marketing strategies. The importance of a trademark in the success of your brand cannot be overstated.
A trademark may express your brand identity, values, beliefs, mission, and vision. Also, it helps buyers make purchase decisions by distinguishing your brand from the others.
Customers will immediately recognize your brand when they see it because of its uniqueness or established reputation. This will let them know precisely what they are buying.
Owning a recognizable trademark makes marketing and advertising more accessible. Your trademark may be all you need to use in your promotional materials after it has gained recognition. Apple Inc.’s usage of the apple sign is a great example. Just by looking at the symbol, anyone can recognize the brand.
Apple Inc. frequently does not use words in its advertisements. In addition, trademark registration also gives a clear roadmap for growth into additional local and international markets.
Reasons Businesses Need Trademark
Here are nine reasons trademarks are essential to your business.
Create Brand Recognition
Trademarks are a representation of your company’s identity. The unique names, slogans, symbols, logos, and graphics you develop for your company aid in recognizing your products and services. Customers will tell your products from those of competitors because of the distinctive trademarks.
If you are new to establishing a small business, you may be confused by the idea of trademarks and copyrights. Yes, both are forms of intellectual property protection. But names, slogans, and logos are not protected by copyright.
Establish Business Asset
Trademark protection grants you the exclusive right to use the distinctive mark in your business. Globally, company values have expanded beyond the tangible assets that organizations own.
Uber, Swiggy, and Oyo are examples of lean business models. Thus, millions of people now trust and respect these companies.
The golden arc of McDonald’s or Apple Inc.’s bitten apple emblem shows the power of branding and recognition. As a result, the value of these brands has risen into the billions.
A Unique Identifier
To begin with, trademarks are crucial because they act as a distinct identification mark. With just one glance at the trademark, the customer ties it with a firm. It might be the logo’s name, the design, or the colors. Customers do not even need to read the text to understand what it implies.
One look should be enough to tell them what the brand is all about. For instance, Nike does not always have words on its emblem, yet most people understand what the brand stands for. Building a brand requires time and effort. So many businesses wind up investing a lot of money on marketing and outreach just to get their brand name out there.
Symbol Of Excellence
Consumers can quickly recognize a trademark that conveys a specific class and quality of the products.
For instance, the Rolex brand connotes luxury. When consumers see the Rolex insigma on a product, they immediately consider it an high-end product that of the finest materials.
However, if Rolex fails to trademark this insigma, a counterfeit can be made using the Rolex insignia. The luxury brand’s sales will eventually suffer as what it stands for have been diluted by the counterfeit products.
Trademarks safeguard the quality that a brand represents.
Protects Brand Reputation
Another advantage of trademark registration is that it protects your brand identity.
Brand identity elements like your brand name and logo have a direct relationship to how consumers perceive your brand. Depending on your position, it could mean safety, great customer service or even a specific taste to your consumers.
When these brand identities are used by others to make counterfeits, your brand reputation takes a hit. This is because consumers would get something different from what they already associated with the original brand.
Hence, you should think about trademark registration to protect your brand reputation. Trademarking your company name, products, and services will set them apart from the competition.
Consumer Protection
A trademark application informs buyers that a product meets a standard and is of high quality. Registering a trademark prohibits others from using it. And it keeps buyers informed about the goods. For instance, Lux is a soap brand advertised as a “beauty soap” in India. If another soap producer decides to use the same trademark, buyers may be confused. Not only that, they end up paying for something they didn’t want.
Strengthens Market Footing
To convince customers to buy a product, marketing may take years. A business may have a trademark that has been used for many years and has a hard-to-beat reputation. As a result, it is critical for a firm that possesses such a mark to defend it against unauthorized usage to maintain its image.
For instance, Belgian beer brand Stella Artois has used the same logo in essentially the same form since 1366. Therefore, it would wish to be safeguarded against misuse!
Seamless Communication Tool
Yes, a trademark is a powerful and simple means of communication. It speaks for itself. A registered trademark can clearly communicate a brand promise.
For example, one of the world’s most recognizable brands, Amazon Inc., uses its name ‘Amazon’, with an arrow going from the first ‘a’ to the ‘z’ – a ‘wink’ as her logo. The trademarked logo subtly communicates to customers that the company sells everything from a to z.
So, you can use your firm’s trademark to communicate with your customers about your company name, services, and brand promise. Your trademark might be a logo or design that does not require any words or letters. Yet, customers will instantly recognize it.
Financial Perks
Trademarks increase the value and visibility of a startup. As a result, a small business with well-established trademarks and brands in its portfolio has a high market reputation.
A good market reputation contributes to the brand equity making it easier to get funding from the stock market or borrow from lenders to grow into foreign markets. It also makes finding partners and colleagues easier.
Furthermore, a trademark registration will put your company ahead of its competitors. Many new businesses cannot detect viable concerns until they get a complaint or demand letter from another company instructing them to alter their business name.
Such complaints might cost thousands of dollars as they may have to budget for a new company name, logo, social media accounts, promotion, and website upgrades.
A lawyer will check for similar business logos or names when applying for a trademark. If they come across anything similar, they may make adjustments to distinguish it from the registered brand. The sooner you check on your trademark, the more dollars you may save.
Bonus: Exclusive Right And Ownership
Until you opt in for trademark registration, a competitor may claim it for its use. As a business owner, you incur the fear of another firm infringing on your unique mark. So, if the mark is unregistered, you can’t claim ownership.
Furthermore, the trademark you registered may be already in use. The mark you designed and feel is unique may already be authorized or under consideration for registration by another entity. Thus, you may be unwittingly plagiarizing their work without realizing it!
However, the most straightforward approach to avoid both issues is to register your trademark as soon as you can.
Are Trade Names And Trademarks The Same Thing?
No. The phrases, trade name, and trademark seem similar, but it’s critical for company owners, especially those in the early stages of their venture, to understand the differences. Choosing and registering trade names and trademarks is an essential component of building a brand’s visibility and awareness in the marketplace. Hence, it is a process that you must take seriously.
The law distinguishes between the two: a trade name is the company’s formal name. But a trademark protects a company’s brand legally. A trademark is a logo or brand name you place on your products, such as Nike and its “swoosh” logo. A firm’s trade name is just the name under which the company conducts its business; it does not contain any design or distinguishing features.
Trademarks are used by businesses to distinguish their products from those of their competitors. For this reason, it allows customers to recognize the brand and develop brand loyalty quickly. Trade names are used for administrative purposes, such as submitting a business tax return or billing. However, you may use a trade name in your trademark.
Final Thoughts
This article discussed nine reasons trademarks are essential for your business. As previously said, they provide your organization with legal protection, safeguard you from future litigation, and help your company stand out. They also help you identify your products and raise the value of your firm. Trademarks remain a long time if you renew them regularly; they represent your trust in your company and help you rank better in search engines.
So, if you have a small business, consider trademarking it as soon as possible to reap the above benefits. However, if you intend to establish a business soon, start the registration procedure now. If you do it later, you may find that someone has already used it. This way you will avoid losing the money and effort you may have spent building your business, reputation, and client base.
