5 Trademark Facts
- Trademarks are the most valuable and important assets your business will ever own because:
- people use trademarks every day in order to make their purchasing decisions (e.g. purchasing COCA-COLA instead of PEPSI)
- trademarks symbolize the qualities and characteristics of your products and services
- trademarks embody the goodwill and reputation that your business has with the public
- trademarks are essential to the successful advertising and sale of your products and services
- Trademarks can consist of words, logos, symbols, slogans, and characters. Even color, scent, and sound may become trademarks over time if consumers begin to associate them with a particular product or service.
- You acquire rights in your trademarks by using them in connection with the advertising and sale of your products and services. But, without a federal trademark registration, you only have trademark rights in the local geographic area in which you are operating.
- Small and medium-sized businesses are more likely to be sued for trademark infringement because many do not perform a comprehensive federal trademark clearance search prior to adopting and using their trademarks.
- Forming a corporation, LLC, or other type of business entity does not protect the name of your business (which, in many cases, is your most valuable trademark). Neither does filing a fictitious name registration.