Tag Archives: trademark

R is for Registered Trademark and Copyright

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This week’s letter-based-topic might seem like a stretch since, really, the subjects are trademarks and copyrights – neither of which begin with an r. But putting registered in front of those terms is not just a cop-out that a lazy writer has used to fit with a weekly theme. There are actually very important distinctions between registered and unregistered intellectual properties.

Technically, you do not have to register trademarked or copyrighted property. An unregistered trademark simply needs the little ™ symbol next to it and, voilà, the property is unofficially trademarked. You can even establish a proprietary right to the mark by using it in the market.

The same general principle is also applicable to copyrights. When the United States signed onto the Berne Convention in the late 80′s, it effectively agreed to see an author copyrighting his or her work as an automatic right. That means that, thanks to the Berne Convention, no registration is required to copyright something in the United States.

However, it would behoove anyone looking to protect their intellectual property to register a trademark or copyright with the United States government. Though you, technically, do not have to register, doing so really bolsters the legal protections afforded to you as the creator of whatever intellectual property that needs protection.

An unregistered trademark, for example, may afford you a small area of geographic protection, ensuring none of your local competitors will be able to rip-off your intellectual property. That protection, however, is limited, which means that your mark could be used somewhere else in the country or, depending on how far apart the two parties are, the same state. The extent to which you can pursue litigation for trademark infringement is also limited, unless you register. To make matters worse for those who forgo registration, the United States typically prefers a first-to-file system, rather than a first-to-use, meaning if someone beats you to the USPTO, they may be able to claim the mark as their own as they registered it first.

Registered and unregistered copyrights have similar distinctions. As mentioned above, you do not have to register a copyright – there is an international understanding of an artist’s natural right to own their work. However, if you want to pursue litigation, you have to register with the United States Copyright Office. In fact you cannot even claim statutory damage unless you registered for a copyright before the infringement took place so, just like with a trademark, make sure you register your intellectual property.

It is all too easy to rationalize not registering a trademark or copyright. You are, after all, afforded some protection for unregistered intellectual properties, and pursuing registration can be costly and time-consuming. But seeing your property used for someone else’s gain and not being able to do anything about will be far more distressing than the registration process ever could be. So when you begin to use intellectual property that can qualify for a trademark or copyright, begin the registration process immediately and protect those properties.

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B is for Branding

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For the second installment of our ABC’s of Business here at the MyCorp Blog. B gave us a bit of trouble – we knew we couldn’t lapse into the overtly lazy choice and just use “Business” as our B word, but we soon realized that most of the B’s we could use involve Business in some way. Business financing, Business to Business Sales, Bring Your Own Business (the new BYOB) … and while we love busy businesses, we just couldn’t be seen using the tell-tale B word for this installment. In what must have been one of the weakest eureka moments in the history of blogging, we figured out an important B that DIDN’T involve the word Business – Branding. So, for this week at least, B is for Branding.

B be for Branding

Branding is just as important to a business’s success as any other B word we could have dug out of the dictionary. Your brand is what identifies you, what inspires trust in your product and service. Businesses spend A LOT of money on branding because it is still one of the best ways to make sure that customers are able to, and want to, seek out a particular business over the competition.

Building up your brand, however, is more difficult than just coming up with a spiffy logo or clever name. You have to build the business that is represented by that brand. That means going above and beyond in customer service, and taking the steps necessary to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Your knowledge and experience helped birth your business, and your business thus reflects those very characteristics. You can invest all you want in expensive signage and packaging, but it isn’t enough to simply be set apart from your competition via superficial means. Your business has to walk the walk, if you’ll pardon the cliché.

But if you’re able to build up that trust and confidence, that spiffy logo will be associated with a strong, trustworthy company for as long as you keep up the good work. Just be sure to file for a trademark on anything you use to brand your business, or a copyright in the case of things like jingles. The last thing you want is for your competition to steal the product of all that time and energy. This type of theft may sound like it only belongs in the world of corporate behemoths, but trust us when  we say that there are plenty of small-town businesses that have seen very similar logos and signage pop up near their competitor’s shops.

So protect yourself, protect your business, and protect your brand!

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Take Your Business to the Next Level: Apply for a Trademark!

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After starting your business and establishing your initial customers to reach out to, it may seem like there isn’t much to do except wait for the customers to come rolling in. On the contrary, this is the perfect time to start your business down the course for success! One of the most important (and easiest) ways to do this is to register for a trademark for you business name, product name, logo, or company slogan. In comparison to the number of people who open up businesses each year, not many people take advantage of this step but it can really save you in the end. The benefits of registering a trademark for your company name and/or product are twofold: protection of your business and brand recognition.

First, trademark registration provides protection to the company you have worked so hard to create. All the time and energy spent making sure that you are the best can be wasted if a similarly named company moves into your neighborhood and starts operating poorly. Consumers may then start confusing your company with theirs which is great for them, bad for you. Registering a trademark protects you from this scenario by deterring other entrepreneurs from using your company name and also provides a method of legal recourse for those situations when another company starts using your name anyway.

The second benefit of registering a trademark is to promote brand recognition. If you think of all the products and company names you encounter every day, many of those products are registered trademarks. “Branding” is vital to a company, especially for advertising and consumer recognition. Registered trademarks provide a national, and even sometimes international, license for use of your company and/or product name. This allows for uniform advertising on a national level that promotes name recognition anywhere you advertise. Consumers from California to New York that search for your product online or hear about your company will associate that name with your company only; a very valuable tool for increasing your company’s business.

After you’ve worked to bring your business idea to life, protecting it becomes important. One way to do that is through the use of trademarks. Companies with similar names or offering similar products can steal customers away or negatively impact your reputation. Registering your business name and product protects against this scenario and allows you to be a unique company, saving you from consumer confusion and promoting your brand wherever you want to operate.

Ready to apply for a trademark? Let MyCorporation help! Learn more HERE.

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MyCorporation How To: Branding Your Small Business

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Separating your small business from its competitors is crucial, especially in the current economy. Learning how to successfully brand your business will help you achieve this goal. However, with so many new forms of social media, creating a strategy can be difficult. Consider the following questions and answers to learn branding tips that will help you navigate the sea of online communication and effectively develop a branding strategy.

How do I separate my business from the competition? Have a clear business plan. Have a direct answer to the question, “what is your business about?” Figure out who you are and what your business represents. From that point, create a logo that represents the image you wish to portray. Investing $750-$1000 in a company that will help you develop a logo is a great idea. These companies know what is already on the market. They can help you create a logo and an image that is new to the small business world and unique to your company.

What is the best way to spread the word about my business? Social media is the easy answer. Facebook, Twitter and Linked In, to name a few, provide the perfect platform to get the news out about your business. If you are unfamiliar with using these sites, ask a younger employee. These websites are second nature to the younger generations and they can help you out. Also, creating your own profile is free, thus sweetening the deal. Using these sites can also help you research your competition and learn your market.

To blog or not to blog? BLOG! If you are reading this, you are proof that blogging works! Your business website provides customers with general information; however a blog will help give your business a voice. Aside from the services and prices, what is going on within your market? Have you developed certain strategies you would like to share with others? Relevant issues within your business community also provide great topics to use for a blog. Creating a voice for your company will make your business relatable to customers while also increasing your online presence.

What else can I do? Keep in mind that you need to stay relevant to your customers. Implement new strategies such as updating your Facebook profile or tweeting about current events pertinent to your market to ensure you are up to date. Understand how technology is changing in order to keep your business up to speed. For example, add comments on the blogs of your competitors linking back to your site. Generating web content surrounding your market and your business will not only increate traffic on your site, but will also ensure you are keeping up with your competitors.

Get out there and make your online presence known! Create a strong logo and develop a clear and simple business plan. Use social media websites to generate content relevant to your business, and don’t forget to check up on the progress of your competitors! Learn about other ways to maintain your business using MyCorporation HERE!

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Register your Trademark!

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After you start your corporation or LLC, what comes next? Building a reputation in your market or industry can be challenging and frequently requires time to gain the trust of consumers. Registering a trademark can help you on your way to becoming an established and reputable company by giving you a jumpstart in name recognition.

The benefits of registering a trademark for your company name and/or product are twofold. First, trademark registration provides protection to the company you have worked so hard to create. All the time and energy spent making sure that you are the best you can be may be wasted if a similarly named company moves into your neighborhood and starts operating poorly. Consumers may then start confusing your company with theirs which is great for them, bad for you. Registering a trademark protects you from this scenario by deterring other entrepreneurs from using your company name and also provides a method of legal recourse for those situations when another company starts using your name anyway.

The second benefit of registering a trademark is to promote brand recognition. If you think of all the products and company names you encounter every day, many of those products are registered trademarks. “Branding” is vital to a company, especially for advertising and consumer recognition. Registered trademarks provide a national, and even sometimes international, license for use of your company and/or product name. This allows for uniform advertising on a national level that promotes name recognition anywhere you advertise. Consumers from California to New York that search for your product online or hear about your company will associate that name with your company only; a very valuable tool for increasing your company’s business.

Find out how to register here

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What's in a brand?

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Forming a corporation or LLC is one step in the development and protection of a brand. Protecting your company name with the Secretary of State in which your corporation or LLC is formed does not necessarily mean that your trademark or brand name is avaiable on a nation-wide basis.

If you’re building a brand, which may go beyond the formation of a corporation or LLC, then considering a trademark search is a good way to go. A good example is our own company. Our corproate name is “My Corporation Business Services, Inc.”, but our brand name is “MyCorporation.com.” We do business under our brand name, it’s simpler, it’s more catchy, and it’s more well known. For that reason, we made sure the name was available on a nationwide level – that it can be used without conflicting with another company.

To evaluate whether there are other companies using your brand, a trademark search is the way to go. It’s a great first step in the process because it’s better to make sure the brand name is available before you invest in the brand only to discover it’s already in use.

A brand can be a company’s biggest asset – look at Amazon, Nike, McDonands. It’s often not the products, but the brand names with which we are familiar. Familiarity often results in customer loyalty, and it all starts with the brand.

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