Register your trade mark or lose out to the copycats!

It is important to consider registering your trade mark before internet copycats steal your business and clients from under your nose.

With the majority of businesses moving everything online, access to information now is instant.

This opens up opportunity for illegitimate third parties to steal your business in a number of ways.

The most time and cost effective way to stop them is by registering your trade mark. This gives you the power to stop them.

The two key ways in which online rogue traders are undermining good businesses are through the use of a similar brand name and search engine advertising.

An unauthorised party will use a name which is very similar to the brand to cause confusion with consumers therefore leading them to use their business instead of yours as they have mistakenly believed that the rogue trader is legitimate.

This can not only lead to loss of sales but can also damage your reputation if the product or service they provide is of substandard quality. If your trade mark is registered, this action can be put to a stop very quickly. If not, it can be a complicated process trying to prove that you were the original user of the brand.

Secondly, search engines, such as Google, have a system in which businesses can advertise their brand above other competitors.  Search engine advertising can demand a high price as it is a good way to draw in customers. If a third party purchases the advertising rights to your brand and they link it to their business, any consumer using the popular search engine will be directed to them instead of you, again losing you business.  With a registered trade mark, you can stop this.

For more information and guidance on how to start an application and protect your brand contact Jane Coyle at The Trademarkroom for a cost and time effective service tailored to you.

By Ellis Sweetenham