Michigan Businesses Should Protect Their Trademarks
Many business owners don't realize that one of the most important business assets in their company may not be a physical asset. Rather, it very well might be an intangible asset like a trademark. A trademark can be a business's name, logo, or any other symbol or device that distinguishes that business or its products in the marketplace. Properly protecting a trademark prevents others from wrongfully using a business's identity to market their own goods or services. This will help to prevent confusion on the part of a company's customers and damage to a business's brand.
A trademark can be any device that is used to identify the products or goods that one business produces from those of its competitors. Simply put, a trademark is commonly referred to as a brand name. Trademarks are essential business assets because they allow companies to establish their reputation in the marketplace by preventing companies hawking an inferior good or product from deceptively trading on other companies' brand identity in order to confuse consumers and diminish the reputation or profit of those companies. Trademarks can include items like words, names, symbols and logos. In essence, a trademark can be anything that distinctly identifies a business with respect to the goods it produces.
A service mark is just like a trademark, except that companies use service marks to distinguish their particular services (as opposed to goods) from their competitors.
Trademark and service mark protection can arise under the common law without a business taking any special action. A higher level of protection can be achieved by registering a trademark or service mark with the appropriate state authorities. Unfortunately a state-registered trademark or service mark does not offer significant protection for products or services that are offered in more than one state. To achieve the highest level of protection, a trademark or service mark must be registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Doing so will provide the highest level of protection on a nationwide basis (and potentially worldwide if the proper steps are taken).
Trademarks and service marks are definitely not do-it-yourself projects. A business attorney with experience in intellectual property issues should be consulted anytime a business or entrepreneur needs assistance with matters involving trademarks or service marks.
