This offers some legal protection when you’re starting out, but Christina recommends you consider trademark registration when your business picks up traction. You can informally get a trademark by doing business using a name or a logo, and establish your reputation and mark that way (this is often called an unregistered or common law trademark). There are two ways to get a trademark, and one is more formal (and involved) than the other. The question is, do you need to be thinking about trademarks right away? How do you get a trademark?Īs soon as you start a small business or develop a product, you likely have some source identifiers, including your business name and your logo. “If you don't use it, you lose it,” says Christina. Trademarks need to be used and actively protected. With domain names, you can register it once and it’s yours. It’s also important to note that trademarks and domain names are separate. “It’s a good trademark because it’s a unique phrase, and it’s not just descriptive.” “For my courses, I can't register ‘wedding photographer contract,’ because it’s completely descriptive, but I could register Legalize Your Biz™, a legal course for online entrepreneurs,” says Christina. Trademarks for services are often called service marks. Which parts of a product name you can trademark apply to the names of anything your business sells, including digital products and services. Band-Aid® is the trademark, bandages is the product.” A trademark is always the source identifier, and it can be followed by the generic product category or name. has a registered trademark for ‘Key Smart.’ So when they talk about their products, it's Key Smart® key fobs,” she says. “You couldn't just register ‘key fob,’ but Key Smart Inc. As an example, she says, consider Key Smart® key fobs. One thing Christina made clear is that while you can trademark names, they need to be more than just descriptive. □ Note: Creative works like art or books are usually covered by copyright, not trademarks. This can include a unique combination of letters, sounds, symbols, or designs.įor a more concrete list, it’s possible to trademark: Anything that identifies a product or brand as different from others in the market could be considered a source identifier. What is a trademark?Ī trademark is a source identifier. Her experience spans both growing her own brand and working with clients to build and protect their brands, too. We spoke with Christina Scalera, legal expert and founder of The Contract Shop, which sells contract templates to creatives and entrepreneurs. What is a trademark, what parts of your business can you trademark, and when should you consider registering a trademark to protect your business? Today, we’re going to shed light on one legal topic that affects many business owners: trademarks. Learning the legalities of running a business means introducing yourself to a lot of rules, practices, and terminology that can be somewhat confusing.
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