The Role of Trademarks in Start-Up Success: A Comprehensive Guide

In today’s competitive market making a brand and maintaining it is crucial to build customer trust. Maintaining the brand means keeping it secure from any infringement. The Trademark identify exclusive ownership of a brand and its associated marketing tools. Registering trademarks prevents others from using substantially identical products or services without permission.

Customers trust branded products more as compared to products which has no brand, or the brand is not that famous. The brand has its own identity and that’s why it stands out among others. For example: in a pile of shoes, you can easily locate the branded shoes of Nike, Puma, Skechers, Clarks, Adidas and many more.

What are the Elements of a Trademark?

The elements of a trademark are the product logo, slogan, tagline and colours. These are designed in a creative way to create a unique brand identity. There is a difference between a tagline and a slogan. A tagline is more permanent than slogans that can vary with the advertising campaigns. 

Example of Tagline and Slogan: Amul has a tagline, “The taste of India” and many times it used the moment marketing perfectly. Its example is when Neeraj Chopra won the Olympics, Amul shared a poster with the slogan: “Jalwa in Javelin, Goes the Distance”.

Role of Trademark to Create a Unique Brand 

In the market, there are different brands in one business. But, for customers identifying their products will be a task if they do not brand their products in a unique way. Similarly, for protecting the brand identity and its market presence, a trademark plays an important role. Below are the points which show the role of a trademark and it as follows:

• The trademark protects your brand from legal suits by others who have similar products to your business. The logo, image, and colours must be different so that your competitors will not replicate them easily.
• The trademark is something that remains for the long term and requires renewal after a period of time. In the case of a trademark, you need to renew it after 10 years and apply for the renewal before the date of incorporation.
• Through a trademark, you can build equity in the industry by showing your brand’s credibility and trustworthiness. So, any other business that will sell a replica of your product will face a hard time convincing customers to buy your product, it is because they don’t have brand recognition. For example: names such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Apple cannot be copied or stolen.
• The trademark is also beneficial in filing legal documents such as contracts. As it shows more authority than using any generic term.

Advantages of Trademark for Startups

The advantages of trademark for startups are as follows:

• Provide Autonomy: By registering a trademark, you can appeal to investors and contributors for valuation as it shows the credibility of the business. The startups can expand their business in national and international markets without the worry of copycats. However, it is important for businesses who wants diversification in products, and branch franchise, to attain value by selling the brand. 
• Competitive Advantage: As the startup grows, the value of its brand will also increase. Using a trademark for marketing strategies also works best to enhance brand recognition and get more consumers. Once the trademark gets recognition from the brands people start looking for its products as quality products.
• Positive Impression: The brands get positive views from customers when they have a registered trademark, as it shows the credibility of the startup. Other businesses, also become a partner with them from the expansion point of view. Also, if the startup needs a business loan, then it will be a great benefit.
• Brand Recognition: From a trademark, the startup gets recognition from the consumers and if the customers like the product or service, they will return to the brand. Finding the brand becomes easy if the trademark is government-registered.

Conclusion

To conclude, the protection of business identity such as logos, colours, slogans, etc is necessary in today’s time. To protect the identity you can register a trademark which helps you differentiate the brand from competitors and provide legal protection against infringement. 

However, the process of registering a trademark is complex and time-consuming. So, it is advisable to consult an expert for trademark registration. We at Registrationwala, assist our clients from application to finally getting the trademark registered, so reach out to us in case you have any queries.

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.