Why Should I Trademark My Business or Brand Name?
Two questions I get very often from clients, especially those venturing into entrepreneurship for the first time, is “Why should I trademark the name of my business or my brands?” “What benefits does trademarking have?”.
If you have these same questions, then keep reading below!
What is a Trademark?
Your business's name is one of THE most important assets of your company. It's the identity of your business and has a certain level of reputation attached to it, which is why you do not want a competitor to use your name.
A trademark makes it easier to identify your products and/or services. Simply put, it's a mark that you use while conducting your trade or business and helps customers easily differentiate your brand from other businesses in the same industry. From business and product names to logos and labels, you can trademark them all with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
When you register your business name as a trademark, you get an exclusive right over its use throughout the nation with respect to the goods and services it is registered for. You can file a lawsuit for trademark infringement if you find someone else using your trademark in the given category of goods or services.
Note that filing a trademark is different from registering a business name.
Why Should You Trademark Your Business or Brand Name?
At the time a business entity (i.e. LLC or corporation) is formed, the registering authority grants you the proposed business name only if it's not already being used by some other business in the state. When your business name is approved but you do not trademark it, it can receive common law trademark protection, meaning that no other business can register in the state with your name. However, unregistered businesses like sole proprietorship and partnerships can still use your business name because they did not have to go through the state to get their business name approved.
To some extent, registering your business name may prevent others from using your business mark in the geographic area where you operate. While this protection may be sufficient for small businesses operating locally, it may not offer much help for large businesses with nationwide presence.
For instance, if you are running a local mom and pop type restaurant, it probably wouldn’t matter to you if someone else is running another restaurant with the same name in some other state. However, if you own a large chain of restaurants operating in many different states, you may want to trademark your business name.
Registering a trademark gives you protection against its unauthorized use throughout the United States. The USPTO, the authority which grants trademarks, is a federal agency, so the trademarks it issues prevail over business names and state-level trademarks.
Advantages to Trademark Registration
If you register a trademark, you gain several advantages:
It offers nationwide protection for your trademark.
Your trademark ownership is included in the USPTO's database. Inclusion in the publicly searchable database reduces the chances of its misuse.
You can stop the unauthorized use of your trademark by filing a lawsuit in a federal court.
Registering a trademark creates a presumption of ownership in your favor. It makes it easy to prove that you are the only one authorized to use the given trademark with respect to the good and services listed in the application to the exclusion of all others.
Registering a trademark in the U.S. may also allow you to register it in other countries.
Upon registration, you may use the registered trademark symbol (®).
However, not all business or brands are eligible for trademark protection. See our blog post on choosing a strong trademark to learn more!
