{"id":37647,"date":"2022-01-13T07:00:14","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T07:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/honeybook.site.strattic.io\/?p=37647"},"modified":"2022-09-20T23:54:15","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T06:54:15","slug":"should-you-get-a-trademark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbbadmin.dev.reliablepenguin.com\/blog\/should-you-get-a-trademark","title":{"rendered":"Should You Get a Trademark?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is the big question I get from creative entrepreneurs and small businesses. \u201cOkay Joey, just be real with me. SHOULD I get a trademark?\u201d My answer: probably yes! To kick things off, here\u2019s a fun little thought experiment for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine you\u2019re on a plane to Hawaii. That\u2019s right. You\u2019re about to officially kick off a family vacation. You\u2019ve worked hard for this break and you\u2019re ready to enjoy it. As the wheels touch the ground, you swipe off your phone\u2019s airplane mode. Out of habit, you open up your email app:  it\u2019s been a long flight and you want to check in one last time before you officially enter vacation mode.<\/span><\/p>\n

You look at your inbox and your heart sinks. Those three dreaded words appear, all caps, in a subject line: \u201cCease and Desist\u201d and the panic sets in fast. This email is from another brand with a similar name as yours and it mentions trademark violations. According to the email, you have thirty days to completely rebrand. So much for enjoying that vacation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of long days at the beach, you have glued to your laptop the whole trip. You hastily search for new name options, buy a bunch of domain names, make changes to your site and reach out to your business besties for help and support. You might read this and think it sounds too awful to be true, but this exact nightmare happened to a client of mine and I\u2019ve heard similar stories. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ve got you and in this article, I\u2019ll help you think through the four questions you need to ask yourself to determine how best to protect your brand. <\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s The Worst Cease and Desist Letter I Can Receive?<\/h2>\n

Think about the time, money and effort involved in a potential rebrand. I know this isn\u2019t exactly a fun thing to think about, but I highly encourage you to take a moment and really consider the possibility. Let me share my perspective here as a business lawyer who has worked with thousands of Independent professionals. <\/span><\/p>\n

Out of all of the potential legal issues facing my clients, trademarks and branding rights tend to be the most common legal issues that actually pop up and create problems. And it makes sense: with so many people starting a business these days, it\u2019s getting harder and harder to come up with names that aren\u2019t already taken. We\u2019ll circle back to this \u201ccrowded trademark environment\u201d problem later, but the point, for now, is this: if there\u2019s any legal issue that really deserves your proactive attention, it\u2019s trademarked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trademark struggles tend to be the first significant legal issue a brand faces and boy can they be expensive to resolve. A rebrand can easily cost a business over $20,000. In other words, trademark problems occur often, early and at a real cost. I tell you this not to scare you but to emphasize the wisdom of considering the risk sooner rather than later.<\/span><\/p>\n

What if I Don\u2019t Have a Distinctive Brand?<\/h2>\n

My firm has talked to lots of photographers, Independent businesses and personal brands that just use their personal name as their business name. Or the business name is very generic and plainly describes what the business is about.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let me be clear: I hear you. And many Independent business owners have told me that they\u2019ve decided not to get trademarked because, frankly, an attorney told them they don\u2019t need it. The logic goes something like: \u201cWell, trademarks protect distinctive brands and there\u2019s nothing particularly distinctive about my brand, so I don\u2019t need a trademark, right?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in this boat, consider this: you may be right, but are you being effective?<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine someone shopping down the \u201ccereal aisle\u201d of your industry. Think about trademarks as the packaging of your cereal box next to the other options. Are your customers and clients drawn to your packaging specifically? Or are you one of those cereals on the bottom shelf, maybe just bagged without a box and labeled with a generic name like \u201cWheat-O\u2019s\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n

You see, if you don\u2019t have a distinctive brand, what that really means is that you don\u2019t have a brand at all. You have a commodity business. According to your brand\u2019s own packaging, there\u2019s nothing special about your business that would attract a colder lead and make them want to work with you specifically. The more your business is merely a commodity, the more you have to have to compete on pricing to make sales.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ask yourself these questions: <\/span><\/p>\n