Many small business owners rarely give much thought to building a brand and creating an “intellectual property” (IP) portfolio for their business. When business advisors bring up the subject of consciously creating intellectual property, it is often misunderstood to mean patents. While patent protection can be extremely important for certain types of businesses, it is only one type of IP that can create value for the business. This article will be the first in a series of articles that discuss the intellectual property consideration of trademarks and/or servicemarks. Copyrights, trade secrets, trade dress and patents will be addressed in future articles.
Trademarks and/or servicemarks are used to prevent confusion and establish identity rights if multiple companies have the same or similar business names and/or logos. Filing a trademark registers a logo or slogan to be displayed on goods for public record. Trademarks are also referred to as servicemarks if the business is providing a service. While considering a name, phrase or logo, use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s trademark search tool to see if a similar name or design, or variations of it, have been registered. Trademark infringement can carry a high cost for your business.
In Arizona, a trademark application is filed with the Arizona Secretary of State (AZSOS). The state has filing guidelines and tips in the Trade Name and Trademark Handbook. It must be noted that these filings are only applicable in Arizona and are not substitutes for national filings. There is no guarantee that chosen names will not conflict with existing business names nationally.
If the business is going to sell nationally, a similar process can be undertaken with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The U.S. Small Business Administration suggests searching your company’s name with the TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System) database to make sure that you are not using a trademarked name.
Registering a trademark on the U.S. Patent and Trademark website takes longer and is more involved than registering with the AZSOS but can be accomplished without the assistance of a lawyer. Once granted, a “TM” or “SM” or a circled “R” can be placed next to the product name or logo. It is a voluntary, nonregulated way for your business to tell the nation that this emblem, name, logo or design belongs to you. Essentially, the trademark gives you the right to exclude others from using the name, design and logo or other unique attributes that identify your product or service.
By registering a trademark, the small business owner has taken the first step in establishing a brand identity for his business.
The AZ Small Business Development Center is a service provided through the YC Regional Economic Development Center located at Yavapai College, and can assist the business owner in performing the independent research and registering a trade name or trademark. QCBN
By Kurt Haskell
Kurt Haskell is with the Yavapai College Small Business Development Center.
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