December 21, 2020
If you are thinking of launching your own beauty business, then you’ve probably also thought about trademarking that business. And if you’ve been too busy stressing over COVID-19 to even think about taking legal steps to protect your brand, then you’ve come to the right place.
Trademark attorney, Erica D’Angelo, breaks down everything you need to know when it comes to trademarking your business. As a matter of fact, her informative interview is so detailed that it was divided into two parts. Her second segment with Private Label Talk covers name vs logo, rebranding, domain name, LLC, state vs federal trademarking and more! For any small business owner, this list of words may seem daunting. Erica explains them in a way that will have you nodding your head — having that ‘oh-I-get-it-know’ moment.
Here are a few key takeaways:
- Protect your name before your logo. How many times have you seen a company launch a change of logo? It happens more often than you think — check some out. What does not typically change is the brand name, so prioritize that for your wallet’s sake.
- You do not want to hear the word “rebrand”. Worse yet, you do not want to hear the words “forced rebrand”. This may occur if someone comes along and registers the name you’ve been using before you do (even if they came after you). In this case, you would be forced to choose between taking on a legal battle or rebranding your entire business, two extremely costly consequences. Again, do it for your wallet’s sake!
- Filing for your LLC is not the same as trademarking. Being that she’s a highly experienced trademark attorney, Erica has seen many times that small businesses think that filing for their LLC, or limited liability company, is more than enough protection. Well, it’s not. There is no legal protection! This can change from state to state, so someone in Florida and someone in California can potentially have the same LLC. The key difference is that only the person who trademarks the brand is entitled to the name.
Watch part two of the interview here along with a Q&A segment: https://www.globalbeauty.net/interviews
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