Law Office of Jason H. Rosenblum, PLLC

Intellectually Protecting Your Property ®

WHAT’S IN A NAME? – DON’T JUST BE CREATIVE, BE EDUCATED

We all would obviously love to give our companies, products, inventions, etc. names that are meaningful to us, have some sort of relevance in our personal lives, or are symbolic of a sentimental part of ourselves, but let’s face it, this is business.  When it comes to branding, more important than any of this, is how SMART the name is.
So what exactly is a SMART choice in naming your brand? A few things are obvious: memorability, catchiness, ease of spelling.  Once you have in your hand a name that includes all of these attributes you’re set right? WRONG.
From a logical standpoint knowing about your name just makes sense. You want your brand to stand out from the competition. Do a search for your desired name and as Mr. Placek suggests here: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28207944 write those names up on a wall in LARGE FONT and DON’T USE THEM!
From a legal, intellectual property protection perspective this goes beyond good sense.  If you want to be able to stand behind your brand you must know HOW legally protectable it is. Built correctly, your brand is an invaluable asset. With no foundation your brand may not only be unprotectable, but it can be a liability.
I have dealt with clients (on an all too regular basis) who come to me with a brand name or slogan that they want to trademark and upon my most basic search we find that not only does this name exist as registered, but there are several others using it in similar or identical fashions. This is matters for several reasons, one of the most important reasons being that if a registered or applied for mark is being used legally and you have been using yours as well YOU are at risk of being sued. Check out this past post on searches to see what I mean.
Make the often unpredictable path to brand-protection as smooth as possible. Be smart and educate yourself about your brand, your name, and your company, THEN get it covered.
If you have questions about protecting and choosing a strong brand, contact the Law Office of Jason H. Rosenblum, PLLC today at https://jhrlegal.com/find-us/ to discuss the details first. It will be in the best interest of you and your business.
I have to thank my friend Everett Carbajal for thinking of me with this link in just the right time, as I was about to write this post on just this topic!