Brand Protection Basics

For entrepreneurs and companies alike, building a brand and protecting your brand is integral to becoming successful.  As such, brands and trademarks become extremely valuable assets of a company or entrepreneur, and should normally be properly managed, registered, and protected.  The use of trademarks in print and electronic media should be consistent.

Protecting Your Brand: Basic Trademark Guidelines

Trademark guidelines do not merely apply to a brand owner or the company itself.  Any customers, licensees, consultants, outside vendors, or other third parties should also be required to properly depict the trademark.  Brand owners should police and enforce uniform trademark use guidelines among third parties. This is important in protecting your brand.

For instance, when using the trademark, parties should use proper marking.  If the trademark is federally registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, use the ®.  If the trademarks are pending trademarks or not registered, use TM in superscript.  This should be consistent in printed and electronic media.

Read more about protecting your brand.  

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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas.  He also co-founded Project K, a charity devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time.  Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.