Should You Trademark Your Business: Pros and Cons

This is another post for my readers who want to start a business…

If you are a business owner, one of the things you need to consider is getting a trademark for your brand name. Like any other aspect of a business, there are advantages and disadvantages to getting a trademark, but when you weigh your options, in the end, what needs to be done should be clear.

What is a Trademark? 

A trademark is a word, a symbol, a phrase, or a design that represents or distinguishes your products from that of other companies. However, you can’t trademark a business model. Trademarks should not be confused with a copyright or patent. All three protect intellectual properties, but for different types. A copyright protects authorship such as published documents, movies, songs, and architecture to name a few. Patent, on the other hand, protects inventions.

If you are serious about your business and you have plans to make it grow, then these pros and cons should help you in your decision.

Advantages of Getting a Trademark

  1. Protection from competitors.
    Once you have registered your trademark, the name of the business, its logo, and taglines are all protected. This means that companies who are selling the same goods can never use your name. If you find out that they do, you can take legal action against them.
  2. Build customer trust.
    Trust is built between you and customers because they recognize your trademark every time they purchase your goods and they know they are getting authentic products.
  3. Your brand is also protected on social media.
    One of the good things about social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, is that they have placed policies regarding trademarks. If someone has created a page using your trademark, all you have to do is prove that you have indeed registered it and that said account will be suspended. You can use the URL again and set up your own business page.
  4. You can validate business name.
    Before you start a business and spending a lot of time and effort in brand marketing, you will be able to know if someone else is already using that name and registered it as well. It would be a shame if you find out a year or two after that you need to rebrand.
  5. Adds value to your business.
    In the future, if you decide to sell your company, the value is higher compared to a brand that has not been registered. Potential buyers will feel more secure knowing that they can retain the brand for as long as they want.
  6. Cybersquatting is not allowed.
    If you have registered a trademark and someone else owns the domain name, you can also file a request to shut it down. You can do this from the hosting company where the domain was registered.
  7. Registering a trademark is inexpensive.
    You may think that it will cost you a lot of money to register a trademark, but that is far from the truth. It is, in fact, the opposite. It is inexpensive and it also never expires. It can stay with you until such time you sell it.

The Disadvantages of Registering a Trademark

  1. Government procedures.
    Dealing with the government is not easy, most of the time. The processes are long and you have to wait a long time to what you need. Bureaucracy can be a big pain.
  2. Spending more time and effort acquiring the trademark.
    If you are a busy person, you may not have all the patience in the world to wait for your trademark. You’ve got places to go and people to see. And if you are running this show alone, it could be quite a challenge for you. There are papers you need to fill out and a ton of other things required of you when you register.
  3. Someone could dispute your ownership of the trademark.
    Anybody who thinks you do not have the right to a particular brand name or logo, can challenge your trademark and it may even be settled in a court of law. You may have to shell out legal fees for your lawyer.

Conclusion:

When making a decision, it is normal to weigh the pros and the cons. However, in this case, what you need to do should be clear. It does not matter if it could take a while for you to get your trademark in order because, in the end, it will be beneficial to your business. It doesn’t make sense to invest in a company that you could potentially lose because you did not get a trademark.

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. Frederick Frei says:

    After 10 years the registered name needs to be renewed. So it will expire (Dead).

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