For many small businesses it is not always obvious what the benefits are of protecting their brand elements – names, logos, straplines, etc – with a registered trade mark.  Many see it as simply a legal expense, others believe it is only relevant to large businesses, and many believe that it is not worth doing as they cannot afford litigation.

But in fact, there are a lot of benefits that many smaller businesses may be missing out on, and so we thought it worthwhile giving our views on why small businesses may want to consider brand protection:

• It ensures that the brand is yours.  As a business owner there is something very satisfying about having ownership.  And a trade mark registration is an investment that ensures you own the rights to your brand.
• It gives you control over what others you work with, such as franchisees and manufacturers, can, and cannot, do with your brand.
• It’s a valuable property asset.  For business owners considering their exit strategy, or looking for investment, a registered trade mark is an asset that adds value to the business.  For investors, it gives reassurance that what they are investing in can be protected from those who might copy.
• Many businesses like the kudos that being able to use the ® symbol can give them.  For some it means that the bigger players in their market, and those they are pitching their services to, will take them more seriously.  Because they are taking themselves seriously.
• It acts as a deterrent against those who might copy.  By having a registered trade mark your rights are held on a public register.  Anyone searching against your name can see the rights you own.  Knowledge that someone else already owns rights will often persuade another business to choose an alternative name and branding without you needing to do anything.
• UK trade mark law contains criminal sanctions for use of a registered trade mark on counterfeit goods, something that Trading Standards and Customs can act on.
• If you are selling your goods through online selling platforms, many have take down procedures for listings if someone infringes your rights, but you generally need a registered trade mark for those procedures to be effective.
• Ultimately, one of the primary intended uses of a registered trade mark is to be able to stop someone else from using branding that is the same or highly similar and which is sufficient to cause consumer confusion.  Litigation is a last resort, but it is an option for the owners of registered trade marks to stop brand misuse.

The benefits of owning a registered trade mark are numerous.  Every business will have different reasons to seek protection as well as different needs.  That’s why we don’t offer a one size fits all approach to our advice.  If you would like to discuss in more detail the options for protecting some of the most valuable assets in your business, please feel free to get in touch.