As you develop the marketing and sales strategy for your new personal product line, one of the aspects you probably spend the most time on is the name of the product. After all, it’s the name of the product that consumers ask for at the store and share with their friends. But if you neglect to file a federal trademark for your product names, you are flirting with the potential for highly damaging consequences for your new brand. 
 
If you’re serious about your business and its success, registering a trademark for your product names isn’t something that’s optional—it’s a must-do. And the reasoning behind this advice is both practical and legal. Let’s take a look at the top 3 reasons why your personal products brand needs to put the trademark process at the top of your branding to-do list.
 
Reason #1: You Can Only Enforce a Trademark You Own
Registering your trademark with the federal government gives you the exclusive federal right to use the trademark for your goods throughout the United States. The trademark registration allows you a measure of recourse if someone else begins using a same or even similar name for competing products. Therefore, if another personal goods business begins infringing on your trademark, you can force them to stop using the name in their business—and you may even be able to sue them for damages if you can prove that they harmed your reputation or your bottom line.
 
Take, for example, the recent case between Florida makeup artist Lee Tillett and Boldface Group Inc., a beauty marketing company working with the Kardashian sisters of reality television fame. Tillett owns the federal trademark to “Kroma Cosmetics” and when the Kardashians announced the launch of their own “Khroma” line of cosmetics, Tillett quickly delivered a cease and desist request, then filed a $10 million dollar lawsuit. Boldface moved rapidly to rebrand the sisters’ cosmetics line as “Kardashian Beauty” and the case has since settled out of court. Had Tillett not held the federally-registered trademark for the “Kroma Cosmetics” name, things may have turned out much differently for both parties.
 
If you don’t have a federally-registered trademark and you realize someone else is using the same name, you can certainly request that they stop using the name—but if they don’t acquiesce to your request, your legal options can be significantly limited. To ensure the strongest legal protection for your brand, it’s best to invest the time and money to register a trademark for your names.
 
Reason #2: Federally-Registered Trademarks Help Police the Marketplace Without Going to Court
Having a federally-registered trademark can also help you in situations that happen outside of the walls of a courtroom. Consider for a moment social media, a staple of many household product brands’ marketing campaigns. Imagine that you go on Instagram to create an account for your new beauty brand, and you realize that another entity has already reserved the username in an attempt to piggyback off of the good faith you are building in your brand. Because you own the trademark and have the registration number, you can take advantage of Instagram’s Trademark Infringement Report, an online form which allows you to submit information describing the infringement and proving your ownership.
 
Typically, in situations like these where one party proves proper ownership of a trademark, Instagram will “give” the account name in question to the trademark owner. And the same holds true for most other social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Clearly, holding a federal trademark for a name gives you a big advantage if there’s ever a name issue with social media sites.
 
Reason #3: Trademark Registrations Serve as a Deterrent—Sending Other Brands a “Keep Moving” Message
As they’re considering different names for their products, most savvy brand managers will do at least a quick online search for the names under consideration to see if they are already taken. If they see that you have filed a federal trademark on your name, they’re more likely to keep moving and checking on other names rather than settling on that name. The fact is that most businesses want to avoid infringing on someone else’s trademark, and, if they see your federal filing they are unlikely to continue to consider the name. 
 
Add Trademark Tasks to Your To-Do List
As you’re thinking about naming and other branding-focused tasks, make sure that you include the trademark process on your to-do list. Not only does getting a trademark for your household product names give you legal rights against others using the name, but it also gives you a clear advantage in non-legal situations. Additionally, trademarks serve as a deterrent to others who may be considering the same name, helping you to avoid legal issues before they arise. Including the trademark process in your brand roadmap today is a smart investment in the future of your products, your business and your brand.


About The Author
Josh Gerben is the principal of the Gerben Law Firm, PLLC, a firm that focuses specifically on trademark law and services. Gerben Law works with business across the US and the world looking to protect their assets both online and offline. You can learn more about Josh on his blog.