The Risks of Not Registering a Trademark

There’s a lot that goes into starting a new business. There’s the naming process, registration, setting up a website and digital profiles, thinking about marketing campaigns and business plans, and so on. It all adds up, which makes it easy to forget one crucial step, like trademark registration for your brand’s name, logo, and intellectual property.

But that seemingly small oversight can quickly turn into a catastrophic mistake. Here’s a look at the major risks of not registering for trademark protection.

You’ll Have No Recourse Against Copycats and Thieves

Perhaps the most blatant danger of not registering trademarks is that you won’t have any legal protections over your brand name and other pieces of content you create, like product names and so on. And that gives copycats and imitators free reign to essentially copy and use your brand name, logo, and other elements as they wish.

With a trademark, you could go after any imitators and send them cease and desist letters or take full-on legal action if they steal part of your protected brand identity. But without the trademarks in place, you’ll be helpless against these copycats and any possible infringement on your properties that might occur.

You May Have to Undergo a Total Rebrand

Let’s say you put lots of time and effort into making a brand and defining an identity for your firm. But you forego the trademark registration process. Well, some other entrepreneur could then come along, copy your brand identity, either partially or wholesale, and then register the trademark, so they get the protected, exclusive rights over that brand name, logo, etc.

Then, they could theoretically take legal action against you and order you to stop using their brand’s property, even though you were technically the first to use it. That could force your company into a total rebrand, and you’d have to start from scratch, not to mention dealing with the costs incurred and the loss of visibility among your customers and audience.

You’ll Struggle to Attract Partners and Investors

A lot of new businesses rely on strong relationships with partners or investors to support them, especially in those tumultuous early days when budgets might be tight and the future of the brand is still unclear. But investors don’t just throw money around without care or caution – they do their due diligence and typically want to only invest in brands that present the lowest amount of risk.

If your company doesn’t have trademark protection, then that’s a big risk, and it’ll set alarm bells ringing for your investors. They might not want to put any money into your firm, just in case some other brand comes along and starts stealing parts of your branding, and you can’t do anything about it. Indeed, many investors now make trademark protection a requisite of any firm they invest in.

You’ll Have a Hard Time Breaking Into International Markets

A lot of brands are international these days. They might start off selling to a local or nationwide audience. But, with time, they grow and pursue expansion into other markets. Many online stores and other digital brands, for example, eventually start offering goods and services to markets around the world and set up storefronts and sites in other countries.

In that situation, trademark protection is invaluable. If you don’t register trademarks, it’s so easy for so-called “brand squatters” in other countries to get ahead of you and trademark your brand name in different territories. They can then use your brand to make their own profits, as a lot of countries hand out trademark protections on a first come, first served basis.

Avoid These Risks – Register Your Trademarks Now

Risks like these simply aren’t worth taking. That’s why every reputable, serious brand makes trademark registration an integral part of its business set-up. Many brands even register trademarks not just in their home country, but internationally in order to protect themselves around the world and open up potential avenues for future growth and expansion. Do the same today to protect your brand’s future.