Most businesses need to trademark both their business name and logo. They are the cornerstones of almost every brand.
If you plan on being in business for any amount of time, you’ll be building a brand. You need to trademark your name and logo because they represent your brand.
Your brand is WHO you are, WHAT you do, and WHY you do it. It’s how consumers will first encounter your business. It will also be a common thread throughout your marketing. Your website, business cards, and invoices will all reflect it.
What is a Trademark?
Trademarks represent brands. Names, logos, phrases (slogans) are the most common types. They all help customers find the products and services that they like, which helps make them repeat customers.
Trademarks help customers recommend products and services to their friends, which is free marketing.
Trademarks convey stability, trust, and tap the human preference for visuals, making your marketing more effective and less expensive.
Why should you protect your Business Trademarks?
Trademarking your name, your logo, a phrase (slogan), and hashtag gives you the exclusive right to use them. If you don’t, then your competition can use them. Only one business can own a brand in an industry. Typically, it’s whoever trademarks it first.
If someone else trademarks your name or logo first, they’ll own the exclusive right to use it nationally. You’ll likely have to rebrand. That’s why it’s important to protect your trademarks early – even before you start actual use.
The single best way to protect a trademark is with a Federal trademark registration.
What should a business Trademark?
In business, you can build your brand around your name, your logo, a phrase, and a hashtag.
Each of these will require their own individual application, so you’ll pay separate fees for each one. For this reason, most people don’t trademark them all at the same time.
Here’s how to figure out which ones to protect first:
1. Trademark Your Business Name or Product Name for Production
Your company or product name is almost always the most important thing you can protect. It will be the foundation of your brand. If you choose wisely, you can trademark the name in any font, color, and style. That means you can stop copycats using any variation of the name.
We almost always recommend trademarking the name.
2. Add the Logo
Your company or product logo is almost as important as the name. Many successful brands rely on their logos alone.
If you trademark your logo, no one in your industry can have a similar design. That helps make a brand distinctive.
Logos make marketing easier, and social media more effective.
3. Consider Your Slogan or Motto
If you have a great slogan, consider how it conveys your brand. If you feature it in your advertising, you should trademark it. Slogans can often be more distinctive than a name (e.g., Nike’s Just do it®, and McDonald’s I’m loving it®).
If you trademark your slogan, no one in your industry can use a similar phrase.
4. Don’t Forget the Hashtag
You can also trademark your hashtag. If you do, competitors in your industry won’t be able to use a similar hashtag. If you’re building a community with a hashtag, you may want to protect it.
For more than twenty years, Michael Kondoudis has been the go-to trademarking expert for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Michael is a USPTO-licensed trademark and patent attorney, educator, speaker, and author of the Amazon best-seller: Going From Business Owner to Brand Owner. He is also an authority trusted by national news media on major trademark stories.
Fun Facts: Michael is a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court and an actual rocket scientist (B.S. Astronomy and Astrophysics, Indiana University 1994).