Brand Protection

All companies, especially those that are doing well with sales of their products, need brand protection. This refers to protecting the brand name from being used by others who are creating inferior products and passing them off as your products in the marketplace. Your brand represents the essence of who and what you are and as you become more successful others are going to want to cash in on your success. Trademarks will protect the graphic representation of your name and any slogans or logos that you have associated with your brand name.

When you have a trademark associated with your brand, you have the right to initiate legal proceedings against anyone attempting to sell any products using your name. You do need to have a registered trademark in order to proceed in this manner, which is why registration is essential in brand protection. With a registered trademark, you have certain exclusive rights because the law considers it to be a form of property. Although some jurisdictions recognize trademarks as being property through use without registration, if you have built up a sizeable customer base, it would be wise to register your brand name or logo.

As the owner of a trademark, you have the right to prevent any unauthorized use of your brand. When you do see something using your brand that is not from your company, you have the right to seize it and find out who the manufacturer is and start legal action against this person or company. In order to keep your brand name once you register it, you must actively use it within five years. If it has not been used within a five-year period, then someone else can legally use it and even register it as his/her own trademark.

When inferior products come on the market under your brand name, consumers will start to lose faith in your company. In most cases the logos are so similar that a customer needs to be very observant to tell the difference between them.