Your trademarks are the muscular monsters defending your brand. They protect the name, logo, slogan, packaging, and more that tell the customer: “This quality comes from us.”
Think about the value locked up in a band name, like AC/DC, and their famous logo. Those trademarks convey decades of rock and roll and instantly tell you what to expect.
Your boutique name, your marketing company name, your food truck logo. Trademark law prevents copycats from using something confusingly similar to trick fans and consumers.
The biggest trademark mistake comes right at the beginning, and it’s not clearing your name before you start using it. If you don’t check, and I mean THOROUGHLY check to see if anyone else is using the same name or a similar one for the same thing you are, or something related to it, that’s like swimming in the Black Lagoon and having no idea there’s a creature lurking in there ready to take you down. Being rightfully accused of trademark infringement is a horror story you want to avoid.
Some trademark rights are instant, just like some copyright rights are, and just like those copyright rights, it’s a bad idea to rely only on those instant rights. The advice is the same: REGISTER!
Registration is the key to protecting your trademarks and the key to making money by selling or licensing the trademark
Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it. You don’t have to face the darkness alone, though.
I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I’m an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, but I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.
If you’d like to consult with me, please book a consultation online at kingpatentlaw.com or by calling my office at 312-596-2222 or 217-714-8558.
Please check out the other posts and pages on my website for more information on intellectual property and business law issues. I’m also on most major podcast platforms as “Know Your Rights: Your Intellectual Property and Business Law Playbook” (video on YouTube, Spotify, and Substack only) and on most social media as @kingpatentlaw.
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