Businesses of all sizes aim to create a clear brand identity, made visible by a distinctive trademark and made valuable by a strong reputation. A threat to any element of this often complex formula has the potential to weaken a brand’s value and negatively impact the company’s bottom line. Astute business owners, alert for such risks, often work hand-in-hand with intellectual property (IP) attorneys to secure the maximum legal protections for their trademarks and other intangible assets that directly affect branding.

At Sullivan & Carter, LLP, we offer comprehensive services in the trademark registration and monitoring that often form the backbone of a thorough brand protection strategy. We are also happy to work with company teams to identify additional IP assets that might be eligible for legal protections to further safeguard a brand’s future, and to conduct regular reviews of brand protection strategy to ensure that each element is fully up to date. Call our office to learn more or to schedule your personalized consultation with one of our dedicated attorneys. Reach our home office in Chicago today by calling (929) 724-7529.

What Is Brand Protection?

There are a number of strategies businesses may use to protect their brands. Frequently these strategies bring together insights from:

• Accountants and financial analysts, who are equipped to offer perspective on the long-term value of a company’s brand and may even be able to give itemized evaluations of the distinct components’ contributions to the total value
• Marketing creatives, who often play a central role in developing a brand’s identity and reputation management
• Legal professionals, who typically advise on matters related to the registration of a brand’s intellectual property and enforcement of exclusive rights to IP such as trademarks

The makeup of an effective team for developing a winning brand protection strategy will always depend to some extent on the particulars of the situation, but often discussing your initial trademark registration with an IP lawyer is a strong first step in what may be a more extensive collaborative process.

Why Is Brand Protection Strategy a Legal Issue?

Often entrepreneurs building their businesses think of their brands in terms of their marketing logos, which they use to distinguish their products or services so that potential customers will readily recognize the source of the item they are thinking of purchasing, and of their company’s reputation – the invisible yet critical element that makes such recognition valuable. These are, of course, the very essence of branding – but business owners focused on scaling their operations may not immediately think of their company’s distinguishing marks and professional reputation in terms of legal concerns.

Branding as Intellectual Property

Original logos and designs, innovations in products or processes, and a well-earned reputation can all be valuable forms of intellectual property (IP). Intellectual property law is the legal framework for protecting the rights to the use and profit from these intangible assets.

Legal Protections for Intellectual Property

Many businesses work with IP attorneys to develop their brand protection strategies because lawyers who practice in intellectual property law often have the expertise to recognize potential risks and combat potential infringements of a company’s intellectual property rights early. A legal professional familiar with IP rights will frequently review a company’s brand protection strategy and recommend proactive steps for preventing issues before they arise, as well as advising on legal options for addressing such issues when they do occur. An experienced intellectual property lawyer may assist with a company’s brand protection strategy by:

• Preparing and submitting the application for federal registration of the brand trademark or marks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on the company’s behalf
• Recording the approved trademark registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• Monitoring for potential trademark infringement
• Taking appropriate actions to enforce a company’s IP rights against any potential infringement
• Identifying and recommending legal steps to protect other (non-trademark) forms of intellectual property that may impact the company’s brand recognition or marketability
• Advising on licensing agreements and other strategies for profiting from a brand while protecting the exclusivity of the company’s IP rights

While most brand protection strategies can be expected to include a trademark registration, often this registration may be integrated within a holistic brand protection strategy that incorporates elements tailored to the company’s industry and vision. An intellectual property attorney with Sullivan & Carter, LLP may be able to help entrepreneurs evaluate the options that make the most sense in their particular circumstances.

Steps to Developing an Effective Brand Protection Strategy

The specific elements needed to build an effective brand protection strategy can vary to some degree, depending on the type of business (and clientele) and the scale of the operation. However, there are a few core components that can be expected to have broad applicability across a wide variety of business types and needs. Some of these include:

• Identifying crucial IP
• Taking steps to legally establish ownership of intangible assets
• Setting up a plan for monitoring and enforcement

An experienced intellectual property lawyer may be able to walk you through these basic steps and help you determine how they apply to your own brand’s development.

#1: Identify Crucial Intellectual Property

Often a company’s trademark will be among its earliest and most formative pieces of intellectual property, playing a central role in establishing brand identity. Many business owners are already well aware of the importance of their trademarks and eager to protect them through registration with the USPTO. However, this initial step also provides a good opportunity for entrepreneurs to take stock of their total intellectual property and think about how “piece” might relate to their start-up vs. long-term brand protection strategy as their business develops over time.

#2: Take Steps To Legally Establish Ownership of Intangible Assets

The first and most obvious of these steps is often initiating the process to submit an application for USPTO trademark registration. However, there may also be other steps an experienced IP lawyer might recommend taking, such as early enforcement action (e.g - cease and desist letters) for potential infringement of your common law trademark. While trademarks are typically the intellectual property most closely associated with branding strategy, in some instances there might be other intangible assets so integral to your brand identity that you might wish to consider beginning any applicable processes for registering your claim to those as well – not only to document your legal rights, but as part of a cohesive strategy for protecting the core elements that cement your company’s reputation and make your brand unique. The legal requirements for federal trademark registration alone can be daunting, so at this stage many businesses prefer to work with an intellectual property attorney to ensure that all of the appropriate protocols for complete and accurate applications have been met.

#3: Set Up a Plan for Monitoring and Enforcement

At this point you will likely want to take a multi-pronged approach. In the most common scenario (keep in mind that there may be specifics that vary, depending on the type of business and the way the brand has developed), the bulk of the IP protection for brand assets at this stage will consist of ongoing trademark monitoring, with appropriate measures taken in instances of possible infringement. Domestic monitoring is a foregone conclusion, but brands vulnerable to damage by way of counterfeiting may also want to ensure that their USPTO trademark registrations are recorded with CBP.

In many cases, an intellectual property lawyer with trademark experience will be well-suited to managing this aspect of a continuing brand protection strategy. However, while an IP attorney may be able to monitor for indicators of possible trademark infringement or other violations of your company’s exclusive rights to intellectual property central to your brand, an attorney may not be able to control all factors that can affect your brand’s reputation with consumers. The quality of the products or services your company puts into the marketplace over time, as well as its public messaging and the business practices the organization implements, will continue to shape consumers’ perceptions. Because an effective brand protection strategy will involve both legal and managerial elements – to say nothing of product development and marketing decisions – you may wish to consider establishing an ongoing relationship with a law firm that offers both trademark monitoring services and as-needed intellectual property management consultations to ensure that your team has the opportunity to take advantage of legal perspective tailored to your business model and company history as the organization continues to grow.

Develop Your Brand Protection Strategy Alongside an Experienced Trademark and Intellectual Property Lawyer

Business owners and entrepreneurs often focus on marketing and public relations in developing their brand protection strategies. While the message your company presents to the public is indeed crucially important, a truly effective brand protection strategy typically calls for the legal protections afforded by carefully documented registrations of key intellectual property and long-term vigilance in monitoring for trademark infringement and other potential IP rights violations that could diminish your brand’s value. To learn more, or to develop a cohesive brand protection strategy with the support of an experienced attorney, reach out to Sullivan & Carter, LLP. Call our Chicago office today at (929) 724-7529 today to schedule a personalized consultation.