For the Love of Trademarks

Now is the Time!

When is a good time to evaluate your intellectual property particularly trademarks, copyright, or patents? Prior to starting a business or expanding a thriving business are two opportune times. Many new business owners ignore the benefits of trademarks and copyright mostly because of uncertainty about the process and potential costs associated with the application. This is a grave mistake. Your intellectual property is an asset to the company and adds value when looking to finance, merge, or expand.

Defining the terms

Trademarks, patents, copyright, domain names, and business name registration differ in subtle ways. Domain names are used to identify Internet “real estate” and registered business names are used to legally describe a business entity.

You can view a great video on the basic facts surrounding trademarks presented by the US Patent and Trademark Office. It is about 40 minutes long; so you will probably save time by reading my previous post about Intellectual Property Lawsuits  summarizing the differences.

Intellectual  property (IP)

Intellectual Property is a Valuable Asset

Many small business owners equate IP to patents, logos, or copyrights on a document. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Intellectual property may include, domain names, registered business names, video, documents, music, photography, white papers, presentations, pod casts, processes, designs, inventions, innovations, etc. The key is the decision of what to protect and the headaches a company is willing to endure to do it. As mentioned in my other post, litigation for patents and copyright infringement is a big business with a big price tag. As a small business owner/operator, you should conduct regular cost/benefit analysis to maintain intellectual property “value” and to answer these questions:

• Are all the necessary protections in place to cover all aspects of my IP portfolio?
• Is our monitoring effort adequate?
• Is there adequate finance to litigate a violation or an infringement?
•  Is it worth it or better to settle out of court?

Basic protection

A careful review of  basic facts about trademark, copyright, and patents will help to understand the potential areas of focus in creating your IP strategy. At bare minimum, protect your logo, digital assets, inventions, designs, and custom processes that separate the company from competition. The cost is far less than the potential loss. Take the time to protect your assets. The first step is contacting us to advise and facilitate the process.

About the Author: Kristian Hohenbrink

Kristian Hohenbrink is the president of KandH Consulting, a regional small business consultancy stimulating controlled growth and enhanced value in small businesses, start-ups and reorganizations. He has over 30 years experience in creating and managing successful businesses and is an avid writer, presenter, sales trainer, and business mentor.

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