Legal Guide to Protect Your Trademarks

Small business owners invest time, money and sweat equity into building their businesses, creating intellectual property that needs protection along the way. Here are some tips for small business owners to protect their trademarks:

1. Use a watch service. A watch service regularly monitors the activity that is related to your trademark, researching trademark registries and databases to find others who have copied your mark or have marks that are similar to yours. This can be especially helpful if you plan to market your services or products outside the U.S., since marks must be registered separately in each country where you do business.
2. Have an attorney on board from the beginning. By enlisting the services of a business attorney from the start, you can avoid costly litigation or trademarking missteps that could cost you in terms of money and the loss of your intellectual property rights.
3. Proceed with caution. Before you fire off a cease-and-desist letter, review the situation with an attorney. Small businesses tend to try to save money at the expense of sending out the wrong information, which can come back to haunt them by triggering a lawsuit.
4. Do a simple online search. Set up a Google Alert for your trademarks, which will alert you any time your mark appears on the Internet or in the news. If you find something troubling, contact your attorney to discuss next steps.
5. Include IP protection in contracts. Your employees and your suppliers should sign agreements stating they may not use your trademarked brands for their own business or personal use. Your contracts should include an intellectual property ownership clause, especially if you are dealing with independent contractors.