How to Protect your Brand Name with Trademarks

Introduction

A brand name is one of the most important assets a company has. It is crucial to protect this asset from the use by others, and there are several ways to go about doing so.

Federal Trademark Registration

Federal trademark registration is the best way to protect your brand name. It is more effective than state trademark registrations, which often provide protection only in a single state or territory and only cover goods sold within those areas. Federal registration also costs more than state registrations, but it’s designed for large companies rather than small businesses, so you’ll probably pay somewhere between $1,000-$2,000 per mark (including filing fees). It can be a good first step in building up rights to your mark and may even prevent others from registering it themselves if they try to file before you do.

State Trademark Registration can be a Good First Step

State trademark registration can be a good first step in building up rights to your mark. It’s one of the quickest, easiest, and least expensive ways to begin protecting your brand name against competitors who may be using it or similar designs. In fact, you can even file an application for a state trademark with no legal representation at all (if you are filing within your own state).

State trademark registration is not a substitute for federal trademark registration. You should still apply for federal protection, but state registration is useful because it provides notice that someone else isn’t already using that name in their region; this means they have less incentive to start using it themselves than if they knew about your federal register application!

Use ™ next to your Brand Name Early On

The first step in protecting your brand name is to use the ™ symbol next to it. This lets other people know that you’ve claimed this name as yours and that they shouldn’t try to use it or claim rights over it.

Also, put ™ next to your brand name on the first page of your website and any other platform where you are marketing or promoting it (e.g., social media profiles). This makes sure no one else can come along after you’ve taken steps toward trademarking and claiming ownership of the trademarked brand name. You should also add ™ next to all emails sent from accounts associated with your business or organization so that recipients will know from which account an email is coming when they see a logo/brand name listed before their contact information at the bottom of an email signature block.

Register with US Customs and Border Protection.

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for enforcing intellectual property laws at the border, including trademarks. The CBP can seize counterfeit goods that enter the country and may also be able to help you in preventing your brand from being counterfeited as well. You can register your trademark with the CBP, which helps ensure that counterfeiters will not be able to import their fake products into America or any other country where your trademark is registered.

Use the CBP website to track shipments from overseas manufacturers or distributors who might be shipping counterfeit merchandise into America under false pretenses of authenticity from an authorized distributor or manufacturer abroad!

Start an Anti-counterfeiting Program

To protect your brand name, start a program to monitor for unauthorized use of the trademarked name and logo. This can be done through both manual searches and automated tools. A service like Brandiose can help create unique logos that will help deter would-be counterfeiters from trying to copy it closely enough to pass it off as genuine products. Likewise, services like Trademarkia are excellent at registering trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but they also offer specialized reports and alerts that allow you to keep tabs on how often your mark is being used online without authorization by monitoring search results on Google or Bing, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, even entire websites for mentions of your brand name

Takeaway

Monitor the internet for uses of your brand name, especially on counterfeit sites. You can do this yourself by using a tool like Google Alerts or BrandWatch, which will alert you when someone is using your brand name online. This is important because it allows you to take action when someone else is using your brand name without permission—if you find that this happens frequently, it may be worth filing an objection with one or more trademark offices to stop their use.

Conclusion

The most important thing you can do to protect your brand name is to start early and stay vigilant. It will take time for you to build up the rights that go along with federal trademark registration, so don’t wait until it’s too late! If you have any questions about trademarks or would like more information, please contact our office. We are happy to help.