How to Protect Your Brand?
Introduction
If you're a business owner, one of the most important things to do is protect your brand. A brand is the set of expectations, memories and relationships that people associate with a product or service. It's not just something you say or write on your website; it's how customers feel about your company and its products. Having a strong brand can help distinguish your business from others and attract new customers.
What is a Brand and why do you need to Protect it?
A brand is a trademark, a name, symbol or design, or a combination of these elements that identifies and distinguishes the products or services of one seller from those of others.
Why do you need to protect your brand? Your brand is your identity. It’s what people think of when they hear your company name. It’s what makes customers choose you over another company with similar products. If someone else can use your logo or other identifying features without permission, it will hurt the value of your own business and make people question whether or not they can trust you as a professional businessperson.
Register the Brand Name
Registering the brand name, logo and domain name is the first step to protect your business. If you have registered a domain name already, it will help you in future if someone else uses the same domain name as yours.
Registering your business name is also important because it gives your customers confidence that they are dealing with a real company rather than an individual who just got lucky by finding out about that great product or service he/she offers online.
Trademark Your Company Name and Logo
One of the first things you should do when starting a business is trademark your company name and logo. Trademarking is a process that protects your brand name and logo by registering it with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). You'll need to consider how to protect your company's brand if you want to be successful.
Patent Your Products and Services
A government-issued document that protects an invention is known as a patent. Patents are issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to protect inventions for a period of 20 years after filing the application, which means you may be able to stop others from making, using or selling your product without your permission during this time frame. The cost of filing a patent application varies depending on whether you use an attorney or do it yourself and also how much detail is included in the application packet (a formal document filed with the USPTO).
Add a Watermark to your Logo
Watermarking your logo can help protect it from unauthorized use. In addition to protecting copyright and trademark rights, watermarks also have a deterrent effect on those who might feel tempted to copy or otherwise misappropriate the image.
Monitor your Use/Misuse of Others
Monitoring your use/misuse of others is an essential part of protecting your brand. What to look for:
There are many ways to monitor brand usage and misuse, including looking at the content that is being generated by users. To improve this process, you could create a search query and run it on a regular basis.
You can also use tools like Google Alerts or Mention to monitor keywords related to your products or services within social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
If you find something (e.g., someone selling counterfeit products) then the next step would be contacting them with a cease-and-desist letter before taking further action if they don't stop using it immediately afterward
Have a Trademark Policy
If you don't have a trademark policy in place for your business, it's time to get one. A trademark policy is an agreement between you and your employees that outlines how the company will protect its trademarks. It should include:
- How to create a trademark policy
- The importance of enforcing the policy
- What to do if someone uses your brand name or logo incorrectly
Protect your Social Media Sites
Be aware of all the social media sites you might have accounts on.
Make sure they are protected, you have a username, password and security questions, you have access to your account and a privacy policy in place.
Takeaway
It’s important to take steps to protect your brand before you even have one. By creating a trademark policy, registering your company’s name, and monitoring your social media sites, you can prevent other people from using your brand name or logo without permission.
Conclusion
Brand protection is a very important part of running a business. You may have put years into creating your brand, so it’s crucial that you take the necessary steps to protect it. The best way to do this is by registering your trademark and getting a patent.
