How Can I Protect My Brand?

By: Salma Benkabbou, Esq.

The Millennial Business Lawyer®

As baby entrepreneurs it is easy to get confused by all of the information that is out there. It’s even more confusing to try and figure out the legal implications of your brand on google or YouTube or whatever else you may start to look. New entrepreneurs spend so much time focusing on coming up with names, logos, color schemes, and all the creative stuff that identifies their brand.

However, before you get cute with the fun stuff, it’s important to consider their legal implications before you start creating them. Failing to do so can mean you lose all of your marketing money used to create a website, logos, business cards, brochures or any marketing money spent to promote a brand that cannot be protected. It can also mean the inability to protect your brand and losing any Trademark protection that would have been afforded to you. Yikes!!

A properly registered Trademark is how you protect your brand. Trademarks are any names, marks or any device used to identify the brand of the services being provided or the products being sold. Trademarks are not just limited to names and logos. They can also include slogans, colors, smells, sounds, product packaging or any identifying feature of a brand that would help a consumer identify it in commerce.

Every company or brand has at least one Trademark. It is important to properly identify your Trademarks. Often times new entrepreneurs do not know how to correctly identify their Trademarks and limit themselves to names and logos only. It is important to take your business matters seriously by investing in a business and intellectual property attorney. The cost of losing your brand far outweigh the cost of legal fees.

I hope the information has been helpful, of course, it is not everything that you will need to consider as I cannot teach you Trademark Law. I know some of the concepts are difficult to grasp, trust me, even lawyers have a hard time with them. Trademark Law is a very complex area of the law. The best investment that you can make in your business is in the protection of it. If you are not able to secure your competitive edge in your market, then you will not be in business long and your fancy website and logo will mean nothing. So invest wisely and save money by doing things right the first time.

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No Legal Advice Intended: This website includes information about legal issues and legal developments. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and should not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. You should contact an attorney for advice on specific legal problems.