The brand of your company plays 3 roles in your business that might be called the 3 “p’s” of trademark:
- Promotion
- Protection
- Profit generation
Promotion
A well-coined brand will attract more customers to the goods and services you sell. If your name is memorable and the person who buys from you for the first time is satisfied, they will likely remember your company and will become your devoted customer. Products which are associated with an inspiring trademark promote themselves without as much advertising as difficult-to-differentiate brands. Such trademarks can save you advertising money and at the same time can improve your position in the marketplace.
Protection
A distinctive brand can efficiently defend your business against competitors. It gives you an outstanding position in the market and prevents imitators from using similar names. Sometimes, a distinctive trademark can be used instead of a patent. Of course, it can’t substitute for a patent, but might offer you as much protection as you need, especially if the core of your business relies on intangible like service, or social approval. A registered trademark imposes legal threats on those who might threaten your business reputation and helps protect you from unfair competition.
Profit generation
Your brand has an existence of its own. As a separate entity, it has a value of its own and can generate profit for you. You can sell your brand and at the same time own your business. There are some ways of doing it:
- Licensing: You allow a person to produce a product or to render a service under your brand.
- Merchandising: This agreement allows you to lease the use of your brand to others on a large group of unrelated goods.
- Franchising: It is an agreement which gives the right to another company to render services under your brand.
However, remember that a trademark owner is ultimately responsible for supervising licensees’ use of their marks, and that marks can be legally lost if their owner fails to adequately supervise the quality of good or services offered. Your brand represents your company’s reputation and identification in the market. No one should ever consider licensing their mark without an advance discussion with an expert in trademark licensing.