The following is an edited transcript of Chapter 21 of my book video Building a Bold Brand: Small Business Concerns
Small businesses are just as capable of creating and building great brands as big businesses are. In fact, small businesses may be even more capable. All a business really needs is some creativity and wit so that it can begin building a bold brand via a great name. It is important to take a few minutes to search and make sure a name is unique, to file the name with the USPTO to register it, and to hire an experienced trademark attorney to handle the registration process.
Only one trademark question matters for businesses: Can I afford not to protect my trademark(s) given the potential risks and costs of not doing so?
Running a small business involves making decisions about many costs that are not mandatory but that are very important to the business, such as rent, new equipment, software programs, advertising budgets, personnel, and many more. Trademark protection provides a tremendous return on investment (ROI) over the life of a business and can minimize or even eliminate further costs in the future, both financial and emotional.
Potential Costs Resulting from Unprotected Brands:
- Greater chance of being copied inadvertently since the trademark(s) is/are not listed in the USPTO database
- Greater chance of being copied intentionally since the ® cannot be used
- Greater costs (lawyers, court fees, and more) when going after copycats and infringers in general
- Greater risks and stress when going after copycats and infringers
- More company time drained when going after copycats and infringers
- Failure to demonstrate to consumers the importance of your brand
- Less valuable brand assets to monetize in a sale of the business
- More challenges to license or franchise the brand
- Reduced brand credibility
- Potential missed opportunities for protection by U.S. Customs
- Missed opportunities to stop cybersquatters
- Missed opportunities to reclaim social media usernames registered by others
There is nothing a small business can do for its brand that provides more protection—and insurance—than obtaining a trademark registration from the USPTO. Instead of asking whether they can afford the costs of protecting their trademark, small business owners should ask whether they can afford not to.
