Your company’s trademark is one of your most valuable assets!
It’s what sets you apart from your competitors, builds brand recognition and trust, and is a crucial component of your marketing strategy. That’s why it’s essential to have a solid trademark management plan in place to ensure that you protect and maintain the value of your trademarks.
In today’s post, we’ll be sharing some tips to help you safeguard your business’ most valuable asset aka trademark.
1. Conduct a comprehensive trademark search
Before you start using a trademark, it’s essential to conduct a comprehensive search to ensure that your trademark doesn’t infringe on the rights of others.
A trademark search is an essential step in the process of trademark management!
Trademark attorneys have access to powerful algorithms that allow us to conduct an extensive search for any proposed business name, logo, slogan, etc. via U.S. Federal trademark registrations, state trademark registrations, business entity formations, domain name registrations, web results, social media, and more.
When conducting a search, we examine conflicting marks or names with phonetic variations, separation of words, translations, plurals, reversed words, misspellings, synonyms, and more. Because all of these factors should be weighed and considered when deciding to build and invest in your trademark.
If there are many competitors with a “confusingly similar” mark to yours, you can expect to spend more money on marketing and SEO efforts to stand out among them. This is information you should know prior to investing too much into your trademark and brand.
2. Register your trademark
Once your trademark has been cleared for use, it’s important to register it with the appropriate government agencies.
By registering your trademark, you secure legal protection and exclusive rights to use your trademark in connection with your products or services across the country. This means that others are prohibited from using your trademark or a similar mark in a way that could cause confusion or deceive consumers.
In the US, businesses should file their application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The registration process involves submitting an application that includes a description of the goods or services associated with the trademark, a specimen showing how the trademark is being used, and the appropriate filing fees.
The USPTO will then examine your application to ensure that your trademark meets certain requirements, including that it is distinctive and not confusingly similar to an existing trademark. If the USPTO approves your application, your trademark will be published in the Official Gazette for a period of 30 days (“Publication Period“) , and a certificate of registration will be issued.
Once issued, you must renew your trademark within the first 5-6 years post-registration with a declaration of continued use, and every 10 years post-registration to maintain your trademark. Failure to file these renewal documents will result in the loss of your trademark rights.
3. Renew your trademark
Your trademark will last indefinitely as long as you continue to use it properly AND file the necessary renewal documents to maintain it.
Remember: Once registered, you must renew your trademark within the first 5-6 years post-registration with a declaration of continued use, and every 10 years post-registration date to maintain your trademark’s active status. Failure to file these renewal documents will result in the loss of your trademark rights.
So it’s extremely important to keep track of renewal dates and to submit renewal applications in a timely manner to avoid losing your trademark rights and all the time and hard work put into securing your certificate in the first place.
4. Maintain accurate records
Maintaining accurate records of all trademarks in your portfolio is essential for effective trademark management. This includes keeping track of registration dates, renewal dates, and any changes to the trademark or its use.
You should keep copies of all relevant documentation, including registration certificates and trademark licenses. An organized system for keeping track of your trademarks can help you manage your portfolio more effectively and make it easier to enforce your rights if necessary.
5. Monitor your trademark
After your trademark has been registered, you are expected to actively protect and enforce your trademark rights to maintain their value and prevent others from diluting or infringing on your brand. Monitoring your trademark is how you do so.
Regular monitoring of your trademark ensures that your mark is being used in accordance with its registration and helps identify any potential infringing uses.
As a trademark holder, you should perform regularly scheduled monitoring of your mark(s) online, offline, and especially via USPTO. And with a trademark monitoring service, like our Firm’s, you can monitor easily. Our Firm uses trademark monitoring software to scan the internet for unauthorized use of your trademarks on a routine basis, helping you identify potential issues early on and take action before they become bigger problems.
If interested, you should book a Trademark Discovery Call to learn more about this service.
6. Enforce your trademark
Enforcing your trademark is essential to maintaining its value and preventing others from infringing upon your rights.
Methods of enforcement include sending cease and desist letters and/or letters of protest, filing infringement lawsuits, and even engaging in alternative dispute resolution methods, such as, mediation or arbitration.
It’s important to act quickly if you believe your trademark rights are being violated! Delaying enforcement can weaken your position and make it more difficult to protect your trademark! You can check out this blog post for more on what to do if your mark is being infringed.
7. Educate your employees
In addition to hiring a trademark monitoring services, educating your employees about trademark protection and the proper use of trademarks can help prevent unintentional infringement and ensure that your trademarks are used consistently and effectively.
As we mentioned before, your employees should be familiar with your trademark portfolio, understand the importance of protecting the company’s trademarks, and be familiar with your trademark policies and guidelines.
Consistent use of your trademarks can help build brand recognition and prevent confusion among customers.
Think you’re ready for trademark registration? Take our quiz and find out!
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, effective trademark management requires careful planning and execution of best practices. The hard work doesn’t stop at the end registration process! If you’ve gone through the money, time, and effort into registering a trademark and creating a brand behind it, you should be proactive and diligent in your protection of it.
Contact our Firm for help on your trademark journey! Whether you’re now getting started or need help enforcing your rights, JNJ Legal can surely assist!
