3 Tips To Protect Your Trademarked Brand
You've taken great effort to build a recognizable brand in your industry. Now you want to protect that brand so it can retain its value. The first step is often to trademark your company name, logo, and any other relevant brand components. However, trademarking isn't enough. You also need to regularly protect and enforce the trademark. The government will process your trademark application, but they won't enforce it. It's up to you to ensure that others aren't infringing on your branding property. Below are three tips to help you do just that:
Develop a brand strategy. Often, the most likely culprits of brand infringement are those closest to you. A competitor may create a product that closely mirrors the name of your product. Or a customer or vendor may unwittingly use your logo on their website or materials. One of your employees may use your brand elements in an inappropriate manner.
You can prevent this kind of misuse by developing a brand strategy. Your brand strategy should spell out, in detail, how your logo, name, tagline, and other brand elements should be used. It should state what colors, fonts, and other design elements are acceptable. It should also state how and when they can be used, and which individuals in your company make the final decision on branding discussions.
Your brand strategy can also be an important document should a branding dispute ever go to court. You can enter it as evidence to show that a branding element was used inappropriately and that the use goes against your written policy.
Monitor applications and infringements. The best defense is a strong offense. That's as true in brand protection as it is in sports. Keep a close eye on new applications and any infringements so you can take action early. If there is an application or infringement that you believe crosses the line, you can send a cease-and-desist before the infringement goes any further.
One way to do this is with a robust monitoring service. Many trademark attorneys offer such a service.
Work with an attorney regularly. One of the difficult parts of brand protection is knowing when and when not to send a cease-and-desist order. For instance, sometimes companies can have the same name as long as they're not involved in the same industry. If you send a letter to a company that isn't violating a trademark, you could find yourself embroiled in an unnecessary legal dispute. A trademark attorney can help you enforce your trademark at the appropriate times and avoid needless legal issues.
For more information, contact a patent attorney like one from Lingbeck Law Office. They can help you protect your name, logo, and other brand elements.
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