5 Reasons to Register Your Trademark Now
You're considering registering your trademark but not sure if now is the right time. Maybe you want to wait until your business is bigger. Maybe you want to wait until you're profitable or maybe you think it's not worth the investment.
The truth is, waiting to register your trademark is a dangerous game. Consequences can range from being served with a cease & desist letter resulting in a $10,000 rebranding expense to increased trademark registration cost.
Here's 5 reasons you should register your trademark now:
1. No Power to Stop Copycats
2. Increased Trademark Registration Cost
3. Risk of Losing Your Business Name
4. Lack of Business Name Ownership
5. Stifled Growth
1. No Power to Stop Copycats
Protecting your business' identity is becoming increasingly more difficult in the digital age. Everyday (what it seems like) there is a new social media network and a new opportunity for a brand thief to steal your brand identity. Oh, let's not forget about the metaverse - the new frontier of trademark business identity theft.
On the internet and metaverse copycats can confuse and divert your customers and profits. Even worse, copycats can destroy your goodwill and business reputation by providing subpar products and/or services.
With a registered trademark you can stop copycats without filing a single lawsuit. With a registered trademark you can notify platform provides of the unauthorized use of your business name and have the account removed. However, this is only available to registered trademark owners. Without a registered trademark you have no power to stop copycats.
2. Increased Trademark Registration Cost
The longer you operate your business without a registered trademark the more expensive the process becomes. If someone registers your trademark or anything similar to your trademark, then you will have the added expense of going through either (1) trademark cancellation or (2) negotiating with the other party to allow your trademark to register.
3. Risk of Losing Your Business Name
You are at risk of losing your business name and the only way to eliminate the risk is through trademark registration. You can lose your business name if someone registers your trademark or anything similar to your trademark before you or your trademark becomes common an ineligible of trademark registration.
The risk of losing your trademark increases daily. In 2021 there were over 2,500 trademark application filed each day.
4. Lack of Business Name Ownership
If you are operating your business as an LLC, then its perfectly legal for a business doing the exact same thing as you to use your exact business name. So long as the business is located in a different state. There's nothing you can do about it!
With a registered trademark you own yo