Protecting Your Business’s Name: Is a Trademark Right for You?

Most business owners are convinced of the importance of branding. A mixture of psychology, art, and science, effective branding can outlive product life cycles because they provide clarity to concepts that transcend products by articulating quality, credibility, and experience. Your reputation is strongly associated with your brand.

Further, it takes time to curate a brand identity. The internal exercises required to identify what makes your company unique, clarify your goals, and plot your direction can be arduous. But knowing the answers well enough to project your voice, tone, and aesthetic with confidence will yield results. Established brands can create sizable revenue. Many companies even include the value of their brand on the balance sheet.

The most obvious and important component of your brand is your business name. As a matter of fact, protecting a business name – and all the branding psychology it represents – is one benefit of registering as an LLC or corporation. Yet, in some cases this might not be sufficient protection for a business whose plans include interstate or online growth. This article in Forbes offers some thought-provoking insight into the limitations of and LLC or corporation, and suggests greater protection is found in a trademark. Find out if applying for a trademark is a wise move for your business as a means to protect your unique and well-developed brand. FULL STORY