The second key strategy to create a smoother running business is to protect your trademarks and copyrights.
How does this help your business run more smoothly?
It prevents timely, costly and stressful conflict over trademark or copyright infringement. And if conflict does happen to arise, it significantly reduces the cost and hassle of resolving it.
1. A registered trademark or copyright makes it more likely that another will not use your trademark or copy your original work.
So often infringement happens because one person or business didn’t know about the other’s trademark or copyrightable work. It is hard to research an unregistered trademark or and even harder to research an unregistered copyright.
Registering your trademarks and copyrights makes them searchable. If people can find them, the can avoid infringing them. Simple as that.
2. A registered trademark or copyright gives teeth to your letter asking the infringing party to stop.
When you register your trademark or copyright, the law presumes that you are the rightful holder to the exclusive use of that trademark or copyrightable work. You don’t have to prove anything. The other party needs to prove it has rights. Who wants that up hill battle? Not many.
You also can sue for trademark or copyright infringement only if you have registered it. No one wants a federal court case. It’s expensive and lengthy. In my experience, most business owners want to get in with their business not entrench themselves in a conflict.
Every year, I have clients who’s businesses are poised to grow and who have to divert energy and resources to resolve a trademark or copyright conflict. If the mark is not registered, it gets dicey.
Save yourself headache, heartache and expense by registering your trademarks and copyrights before you need to.