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Avoid Brand Sin-Don’t Miss the Mark in Brand Selection & Protection
© Cheryl Hodgson 2009 | Posted on January 15, 2009
On average, 70% of the purchase price paid to acquire U.S. businesses is for intangible assets, with over 50% being for the brand. Intangible assets are the most valuable of most businesses. Yet, they are often the most neglected. “Goodwill” – represented by trademarks and brands – is a valuable asset that can and must be legally protected. Registration of trademarks is only one step in the process, not the final destination. At Hodgson Law Group, we’ve created a simply acronym to outline the six steps you need to remember. INSURE that you build valuable brands and goodwill for your business by following these steps:
- Investigate. Would you walk into a dark room without turning on the lights to see who else is there? Of course not! Don’t waste precious advertising and marketing dollars only to learn your chosen term is not available to use or register.
- Noodle. Develop a strategy and plan based upon who and what else is in your brand space. Avoid needless encounters with potentially conflicting brands.
- Selection. Make your selection based upon sound legal advice. A common mistake is choosing a term which is not legally protectable. Look for the intersection where selection can meet protection.
- Use. Proper use in marketing and advertising is essential. Inattention to these issues can cause complete loss of rights through inadvertence or neglect.
- Registration. Registration may seem simple. However, a wise choice of classes, crafting proper descriptions of goods and services, and proper entry points with a logo and/or words is vital to a strong portfolio of trademarks.
- Enforcement. Brands are made and lost virtually overnight on the Internet. Brandjacking and cybersquatting take many forms, including domain hijacking, typosquatting, pay-per-click ads, purchase of trademarks as search engine terms, and competitor use of brands in meta data.
Next up: Let’s dig deeper: “Investigate: Turn on the lights before you enter the room.”
Technorati Tags: business valuation, cybersquatting, generic trademarks, intangilbe assets, Intellectual Property, internet law, trademark registration, trademark selection
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