In today’s modern world, consumers are inundated and continuously exposed to trademarks in their daily lives. Thus, most consumers can easily recognize and distinguish one brand from the other. For this reason, trademarking your small business may play a huge role in promoting your business and making it more competitive.
The process of trademarking a small business can be a challenging task, especially if you are a new entrepreneur. However, thanks to technological advancement, you can trademark your small business from the comfort of your home. For instance, you can use online trademark registration services such as Bonamark to make the process easier. Using such online platforms may save you a considerable amount of time and allow you to focus on other aspects of your new business.
If you want to know more about trademarks, then you are in the right place. This article discusses what you need to know about a trademark. You will learn what a trademark is, why your small business needs a trademark and the process of registering one.
What Is a Trademark?
A trademark is described as a brand identifier. It refers to a symbol, word, slogan, or name that is registered to your company. Combining these is responsible for identifying and distinguishing a product from similar products in the marketplace. Rules and regulations protect a trademark. Therefore, if someone else tries to mimic your trademark, you have the legal right to protect your business and stop them.
Does Your Business Need a Trademark?
Every business — big or small — needs a trademark. Having your own logo, slogan, and identifying marks will not only distinguish your brand in the market but will also represent the credibility and reputation of your business. Thus, as a business owner, it is important to understand why your business needs a trademark and how it might influence its growth:
1. Official Registration for Your Small Business
As mentioned above, the trademark will help distinguish your business products and operations from those of your competitors. The trademarked phrase, picture, and symbol will be directly linked with your business.
Depending on where you live, rules and regulations surround the process of trademarking. Ensure you conduct extensive research to develop a deeper understanding of these policies.
Aside from that, you have to come up with a unique logo and sign. Copying another brand’s logo may make you liable for trademark infringement. If this happens, trademark litigation lawsuits are costly and complicated. If you find yourself in such a scenario, you may waste time and money, which will affect the growth of your business and overall revenue.
2. A Trademark Helps in Marketing
The small business industry has expanded exponentially over the last few years. The expansion has made it hard for some investors to stay afloat in this competitive marketplace. For this reason, it is crucial to identify your business that will distinguish it from all the others. Trademarking its name, slogan, or symbol may effectively improve your competitive advantage.
This is because you will be responsible for any product or service associated with your product. Thus, you will put lots of effort and skills to ensure you deliver quality products or services that meet consumers’ needs and expectations. In addition, a trademark will make it easier for customers to find your brand, increasing your sales and fostering a relationship with customers.
3. A Trademark Helps Attract Investors and Secure Funding
These are other reasons why you need to register a trademark for your small business. It will be easier to convince investors to fund your business if you have a trademark. This is because there is a sense of ownership if you have trademarked your business name, slogan, or symbol.
Use the funding to ensure you meet customers’ needs and expectations. This will improve your chances of customer retention and improve your brand’s reputation.
4. It’s an Effective Communication Tool
Communication is crucial regardless of the scope of your business. A trademark can help you connect with your target audience. It conveys intellectual and emotional characteristics and messages about your business products, services, and reputation to consumers.
As mentioned above, a trademark can be a word, slogan, a symbol associated with your business. Thus, you can easily communicate with your target audience, regardless of the language barrier or location.
How to Get a Trademark
Although most people may understand the value of trademarking their business, some owners are still hesitant or unsure about how to get one. This is because the process of trademarking your small business can be daunting, especially when you do not have the necessary expertise. The following are the steps you should follow when getting your trademark.
1. Conduct a Trademark Search
A trademark search is an incredibly important step when getting a trademark for your business. Before applying for a trademark, it is crucial to visit a trademark database to see the registered trademarks in your locality and country. You must do this to ensure that your own brand name, logo, and slogan are not identical to any existing business.
Apart from these databases, conduct extensive research to identify a company that might be using your business name, symbols, or slogans under unregistered trademarks. Use available tools and resources such as the internet to access this crucial information. Moreover, you can consider employing an expert who will help you search for a trademark.
2. Think Ahead
A trademark registration is generally valid for up to 10 years. After that, you may need to renew your registration. For this reason, it is important to have projections of where your business will be in five years. Thus, when you apply for a trademark, include all the classifications of goods and services you will be trading in. In addition, you should understand that you might risk losing your trademark if your business goes under during the ten-year contract.
3. Apply for a Trademark
The next step is to prepare your trademark application. A typical trademark application will include the name and address of the applicant, his/her citizenship, details of the business, the class of goods and services, and a thorough description of the trademark. An intellectual property lawyer can help you in this process.
4. File Your Application
Once you have completed your application, you can choose from two filing options. They include Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Plus and Standard. The Plus option may be less expensive and more streamlined than the standard option. However, if you want to create a customized class of your goods and services, you may consider using the Standard filing option. Once you have filed your application, you will receive a confirmation that you can use to monitor the status of your trademark.
Bottom Line
As mentioned above, a trademark will play a huge role in protecting your business name and symbol from competitors. However, before applying for one, you need to conduct extensive research to understand the rules and regulations surrounding the process of trademarking. Alternatively, a trademark lawyer or intellectual property lawyer could guide you throughout the whole process.
