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Why You Should Trademark Your Business

For a business, standing out amongst its competitors is necessary to gain recognition. Generally, this is attained by having morally and visually different characteristics. However, the legal aspect gets neglected.

Trademarking often gets forgotten in the whirlwind of processes involved in starting up a business. But, without a trademark, you will be missing out on an astounding amount of growth. Continue reading to understand how Trademarking can transform a good business into a great one.

What is Trademarking?

A trademark is a sign that enables a brand to differentiate itself from others in terms of its expressions. It serves as protection for all the unique intangible creations developed by the brand, for the brand.

Trademarking is essential not just to be unique in terms of branding but, it is also a requisite to protect a business's intellectual property. A trademark is legally registered to prove that the intellectual property of a brand is its own.

Why Trademark?

Trademarking is not a concept that came into practice recently. Trademarks have been in effect from as far as the 1200s. Over the years, it has become evident that a trademark presents itself with a plethora of benefits.

Your brand's intellectual property will help establish customer recognition. Having legal protection over the narrative of your business will allow it to maintain its exclusivity, therefore, building recognition. It will enable the market to identify the roots of the product or service that they are using.

One of the most popular trademarks is for the fast-food chain McDonald’s. They have trademarked the word "McDonald’s" as well as their famous golden arches. This enables them to maintain their exclusivity and build customer appreciation.

Although the importance of a trademark is questioned by most small businesses or start-ups, it is important to acknowledge that once your brand gains the recognition that it deserves, a trademark is what will protect its rights. If having a trademark gets neglected, any other individual or organisation can recreate what you have done and take credit. It could also potentially lead to legal disparities in the future. This is the reason why all industry giants that you see have a trademark.

Having a trademark will present benefits in other areas of business. Of course, there are the protective benefits that we touched on, but it has functionalities besides just being a legal protector. When conducting marketing campaigns, a trademark can help establish rapport. When consumers get exposed to a unique brand story, it will promote loyalty. They will feel inclined to come back to your brand when they are in need.

A trademark can show that you believe in quality. Trademarks are an excellent tool to let the market know that you believe in what you are trying to offer and that this is why you are trying to maintain its exclusivity. It lets people know that your product or service is one of a kind.

Strong Trademarking

Now, say that you have decided that you are going to trademark your business name; how will you ensure that your trademark is strong? It is important to have a trademark that can withstand your competitors.

According to the International Trademark Association, a fanciful trademark or a trademark that has been coined, has the most impact. Therefore, this has to be the aim when creating a trademark. Excellent examples for Fanciful Trademarks are Netflix, Starbucks, Nike, Google, etc.

A merely descriptive trademark can be inefficient in some cases. For example: having a trademark that describes a brand of Sugar as pure and crystalised, is merely just an adjective of what the product already is. This can be hard to sustain.

If a trademark is generic, reaping all the earlier mentioned benefits will be a difficult task. It will not allow you to have a unique story. It will simply become another average branding strategy.

Being specific is key when it comes to trademarking. Only if you have something individual will your consumer be able to differentiate you from others.

You Should Trademark Too!

You might not require a Trademark to start your brand and run it successfully. But, if you wish to scale your business internationally and reach unparalleled levels of growth, having a trademark is the most effective strategy you can adopt.

It will set you apart from everyone else and allow your business to become an unyielding one.