Why trademark a name

Changing the name of a company can be a difficult and costly task. Having successfully created a good reputation for your business, it can take significant marketing pounds to rebuild a renamed brand. When a logo, symbol or name is unregistered there is always the risk that another business may register it and cause significant difficulties, perhaps by attempting to prevent your business from operating or expanding under its current identity. Because of the above, potential investors will always be interested in whether a business has trademarked its name, key products or services.

Trademark registration not only increases security, but also aids clarity in any merger or franchising of the business, positively impacting its perceived value. It is important to ensure that your business is appropriately protected against competition. Unauthorised parties who use your trademark without authorisation can damage your brand, your reputation and your business, but they are often in a legally weak position and can be prevented from causing damage relatively easily.

By registering your trademark you are effectively building a barrier to entry around your brand, making it harder for other businesses to imitate you. There are two key considerations.

Firstly, that your business is appropriately protected in the countries it operates or intends to operate in, and secondly, that your business is protected in all of the classes of service or products it provides.

So, how do you trademark a name, and what are the benefits of trademark and the importance of intellectual property? However, these goliath companies weren't born with this monopolistic association between brand and product.

Not only did they think up a name, sign, design, or expression which resonated with their product concepts, they also registered their intellectual property as trademarks. This then raises the question of how trademarks facilitate the success of startups and the benefits of trademark registration in the long run. Trademarking grants startups security of their brand. By trademarking a company name, one makes its services and products distinctive in terms of their competitors, becoming their intellectual property.

In doing so, it prevents rivals from copying or stealing their brand. If a business maintains good repute, people are inclined to work with and for them. This applies even more so when an expansion is concerned. As a startup, more employees are a must if a company intends to grow. This brings about the need for a budget, making the trademark a crucial asset when being granted a business loan.

Not registering a trademark leaves a business open to lawsuits from companies who did register one under the same name, sign, slogan, or design. If that does occur, a business will be forced to deal with altering all it came up with, such as the campaign, website material, and to a large extent, their brand identity.

By registering a trademark, a startup would protect itself from another company using their name as well as from imitation of its products or services. A trademark is permanent, with a need only for periodic renewal. Consider the aforementioned behemoth companies of Pampers and Jacuzzi; they have been power-houses in their respective domains for decades and will continue to thrive for decades to come.

Therefore, it is wise to use the services of a renowned Intellectual Property service provider with a good reputation. It can act as a catalyst for increasing value as a startup business matures, more so, if the startup continues to expand.

Last Updated: A trademark is a word, logo, phrase, symbol, or design used to brand and distinguish a good from all other goods. A service mark is a word, logo, phrase, symbol, or design used to brand and distinguish a service from all other services. However, people often use the term trademark to reference both.

Their purpose is to protect against consumer confusion. However, registering a trademark makes it easier to enforce while offering wider protection. If your business sells products, you may wish to register your business name for trademark as well as your products.

By trademarking your business name, you brand the face of your company. If your products have a unique name, you also may opt to trademark them — if those product names meet trademark eligibility requirements.

Cars offer one example of product names that become their own brand and may warrant a trademark. Similar to a business name trademark application, which requires you to select the classes your company covers, product trademark applications ask you to select the classes your product covers — just with more specificity. Your business name is vital to your business. Your business name has the power to make or break your company. Registering your business name for a trademark offers several key benefits.

Specifically, it helps you:.