Registering your business name as a trademark is essential for making sure no one else comes along and takes advantage of the hard work you’ve done on your branding by copying your name outright or using something similar.

You have some common-law rights to your business name and/or logo (your marks) if you don’t register them with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but they are limited. If someone else manages to register an identical or similar mark while yours remains unregistered, that can cause problems for your use of your own mark.

Registering your business as a corporation or LLC with the Secretary of State isn’t enough, either. While that can prevent another business from registering in that particular state with that same name, that is the extent of that protection. It may not even prevent another business from filing a “dba” registration with the county to operate under a name nearly identical to yours.

If your branding is vital to your business, or if you are planning to be in business nation-wide, it’s a sound idea to register your marks with the USPTO so you can best protect your brand from unfair competition or use. You should trademark your business name and trademark your logo. You may also need to trademark slogans and product names.

Contact King Business and Patent Law today for help registering your trademarks!

Learn more about trademarks here.

The post Why Trademark Your Business Name? appeared first on King Business and Patent Law.