Intellectual Property, Trademarking, and Benefits
Starting a company has become a lifelong dream for many. There are many pitfalls associated with having a registered company, one of which is not having trademarks for one's company logo. A company's logo is considered intellectual property; therefore, it becomes illegal to use someone else's logo. As a company that is eventually moving towards franchising, we learnt the hard way when our page, which had built up 2,800 followers and leads, was shut down on a social media platform because someone used our logo and reported us. We had searched and found that no one else had the logo, but it had not been legally registered. As a startup, our company had to liquidate and start again.
What is a trademark and intellectual property?
A trademark is a distinctive sign, such as a word, logo, or sound, used by a business to identify and distinguish its goods and services from those of others. According to the Gov.uk website, a trademark protects your brand, for example, the name of your product or service. A trademark protects intellectual property by giving businesses the right to use distinctive signs, such as names, logos, or designs, that identify their goods or services.
A trademark protects intellectual property by granting businesses exclusive rights to use distinctive signs, such as names, logos, or designs, that identify their goods or services. Intellectual property is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets (Wikipedia contributors, 2001).
Lessons learnt
Looking back, a year ago, it seemed daunting to go through the process of trademarking and starting the company again, but we are pleased to say we are back up and running. We have received our trademark for the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, and soon countries in Africa and states in the United States. It is sometimes better in business to take the time to do something right than rush through and start again.
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