The Value of a Trademark: What It Can Do for Your Business

The millions of dollars spent on advertising and marketing won’t matter much if a future customer is confused about what company is selling the product that they are interested in and buys a similar product from a different company than they intended.

What would you like to protect?

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the value of a trademark what it can do for your business

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Updated on: June 13, 2024
Read time: 4 min

If you think of some of the most well-known companies and brands, you can probably think of a favorite commercial or two from over the years. Those silly jingles and slogans are carefully crafted to make us remember the product. Super Bowl commercials have taken on a life of their own. The amount of money spent is enormous, but the brands are counting on a greater awareness of their products.

Brand recognition takes time for even the most successful organizations to achieve. What takes even longer is maintenance of the brand over time and staying relevant in the public eye.

A recent article in The Atlantic called “‘Kleenex Is a Registered Trademark’ (And Other Desperate Appeals)” describes how companies are trying to protect the names of their trademarks by reminding the public, and journalists who write about them, that the names should not be used in a generic way. That generic usage could eventually result in loss of trademark protection.

In order for consumers to buy goods from a particular brand, they first have to know that the specific brand exists. Raising brand awareness helps generate sales and can turn a casual consumer doing some window-shopping into a paying customer who may support a brand over a lifetime.

However, the millions of dollars spent on advertising and marketing won’t matter much if a future customer is confused about what company is selling the product that they are interested in and buys a similar product from a different company than they intended. That is why trademarks are so important.

Registered trademark

Limiting and hopefully preventing consumer confusion is the reason for trademark law. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a trademark is “a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.”

While there is limited common law legal protection from using certain words, slogans and symbols to represent the brand image over the years while doing business, the greatest legal protections come from having registered trademarks. Trademarks can be registered at the state level, but federal registration provides even greater protection, especially when there is litigation involved.

Trademark business name

If someone is talking about jewelry and says that it came in a little blue box, most people might think about Tiffany. It’s very easy to see the value to trademark a business name like Tiffany and different variations. Even colors can be trademarked in some circumstances. “TIFFANY BLUE BOX” and the color “TIFFANY BLUE” are trademarks of Tiffany (NJ) LLC.

Legal protection for every organization’s intellectual property includes not only knowing how to trademark a business name, but making sure to trademark a logo and trademark a slogan that might be used to sell the products as well. Bringing together different parts of an organization that may not usually work together for a brainstorming session could prove to be valuable. To trademark a name, the marketing department, advertising department and legal team could all help support the organization by bringing their own areas of expertise to the table.

For a small business, that might only be two or three people, but the common goals of keeping the brand alive and legally protected are important ones.

Non-traditional marks to be obtained can include certification marks that certify a particular feature of a product. One example is a mark that the goods come from a certain geographic region. “State of Vermont Pure Maple Syrup” is a trademark.

Sounds can also be trademarked. You can probably easily summon to mind the sound of: the NBC Chimes, the MGM Lion, Intel Inside and the Pillsbury Doughboy giggle.

Trade dress is another protection that is especially valuable in a retail environment. The USPTO defines trade dress as, “a product’s design, product packaging, color, or other distinguishing nonfunctional element of appearance[.]” Over the years, protection has been extended to include the interior or a restaurant.

The USPTO granted Apple trade dress protection of its retail store design after a fake Apple store appeared in China. According to a Reuters article, “The store looked so authentic, even the upbeat salespeople thought they were working for Apple.”

It’s pretty clear that trademarks can be worth a great deal of money. The trademark process takes a few steps, but is worth the effort. Figure out what needs protecting and make sure that no other companies are already using the same or similar logos, slogans or brand names. The trademarks should already be in use in the stream of commerce or the organization should intend to use them in the future. Then the file the application.

The first step to trademarking your business name is to find out if it’s available. LegalZoom’s Comprehensive Trademark Search not only searches the USPTO database, but also searches state databases, corporate names, common law trademarks, Internet domain names and international trademarks.

What would you like to protect?Start my trademark
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This article is for informational purposes. This content is not legal advice, it is the expression of the author and has not been evaluated by LegalZoom for accuracy or changes in the law.

82 days ago
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Jose is the best.

Jose was very friendly and knowledgeable. He was able to answer my questions and provide me information of next steps to secure my trademark.

Cheryl Cooper
85 days ago
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The knowledge the agent possessed was…

The knowledge the agent possessed was super beneficial to rectify the situation I was having with my trademark. Very professional!

Craig Schsrfman
101 days ago
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Trademark work is great and effecient

Edit from my previous feedback and why i decided to give them 5stars they deserved: LegalZoom's support team was excellent—they addressed my concerns promptly and delivered a great outcome. I truly appreciate their help and want to give a shout-out for an outstanding customer service experience.

Trademark
100 days ago
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Thanks for being so helpful in the…

Thanks for being so helpful in the assist of getting my Trademark filed. -Patrick

Patrick Thompson
107 days ago
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Kevin was able to help me understand…

Kevin was able to help me understand the process needed for filing a trademark. He was clear in his answers and stayed on the phone to help walk through the onboarding.

Asiyah Lites-Rasheed
125 days ago
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Excellent Serviceed them for a trademark application

Used them for a trademark application. Excellent service. Knowledgeable staff. I would absolutely use them again. Probably save thousands by going through them.

Eric Hertz
152 days ago
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Estee was super helpful!

Estee helped me navigate the tricky trademark process. Highly recommend her!

Greg
152 days ago
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Very good and focused answers

I got a very good and focused answer to my trademark questions. Definitely makes me see LZ as the place to go with my legal questions. A+

Chip Humitz
156 days ago
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Help with trademark

Got exactly what I needed to register my trademark

Luci Bromberg
162 days ago
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I had a consultation with an attorney…

I had a consultation with an attorney through LegalZoom concerning the trademark process. and she was very patient and professional. She answered my questions and helped with the ones I had difficulty asking. I appreciated that

Isiah Jones ,jr.
181 days ago
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Strong support for trademark

The trademard support by Nick Belcastro has been excellent.

John Kirk Boyd
188 days ago
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Excellent service

Excellent service! Extremely knowledgeable and helpful in reviewing all the next steps in the process for filing the trademark with LegalZoom.

Brian Mayer
223 days ago
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Excellent Staff/Services

"LegalZoom made trademark filing for my company a breeze. Their system was incredibly user-friendly, and I was impressed by the professionalism of the staff. My attorney was not only knowledgeable but also took the time to answer all my questions and clearly explain the entire process. I felt confident every step of the way. I will definitely use their services again!"

Hedda
219 days ago
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Register Trademark using LegalZoom

The attorney assign to us did an amazing job by answer all our question in a friendly, timely and professional way. The attorney helps by giving us information to mange our account to register our Trademark.

wiltrey sanders
228 days ago
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Excellent experience with Legal Zoom

I have been looking to get my business trademark for a while now and I finally decided to try out Legal Zoom. I had an excellent experience with customer service ready to assist me through the process. The price is much more affordable than going through law offices. I highly recommend to anyone looking to get a trademark.

TheAlphabetshop
230 days ago
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Legally create your trademark with LegalZoom in 2025 and The Years to Come

The lawyer that assigned to me was not only professional and friendly, but patience beyond measure. All questions answered and additional information given to me as well for future services. This call gave me the reassurance I wanted and needed to continue using LegalZoom for future endeavors, and referring my community/platform to do the same.

Kali Harris
247 days ago
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Trademark Process Made Easy

My LegalZoom Trademark attorney, Asha was extremely professional, friendly and knowledgeable. She answered all my Trademark questions and made this process so easy. I felt like I was in good hands.

Virtually Debbie
254 days ago
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Trademark

Right now I use everything Legal Zoom has to offer and I'm so very happy with everything, especially the Trademark process. They were absolutely the best! Highly recommend!!

NicoleK
Rated4.6out of 5 based on23,922+ reviewson

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