A business’s most valuable asset is its trademark. Major companies have, for years, recognized the necessity of protecting their brands, their trademarks if you will, so that they can build consumer recognition therein. It is an invaluable part of building your business. Without your trademark consumers would not know how to get your product. Without your trademark, you have nothing to build consumer recognition in your goods or services.
So how do you properly protect your most important business asset. Here are four steps that every business should do:
1. Check Availability
Prior to using a trademark you should always make sure that the trademark, or a similar trademark, is not already in use by another company. If you do not you risk adopting a trademark and beginning to build up good will in a brand that you could be required to stop using if you are ever sued for trademark infringement. So always make sure that the brand that you want to build is available before you begin use of the same by having a Trademark Research Report conducted.
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2. Register Your Trademark
Once you know that your trademark is available you should Register with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Registration is relatively cost-effective and provides the owner with extra benefits should enforcement of the trademark ever be required.
3. Monitor for Infringement
Once you have adopted your trademark and your customers begin using it to identify your products or services, make sure to Monitor Your Trademark for Infringement. Often competitors will adopt similar trademarks to yours to divert your customers to their products. Monitoring is easy and affordable and prevents this infringement from going undetected.
4. Enforce Your Trademark
Lastly, a trademark owner must always enforce its trademark. Allowing others to use the same or a similar brand to your established brand diminishes your trademark’s ability to identify your goods and services and may create consumer confusion, the type that costs you business. So if spotted, make sure to Enforce Your Trademark before it damages your business.