Why you should be protecting your brand right now

You brand is your identity. It represents everything you stand for. It’s what people think about when they’re buying your products and services.

So, you must protect it. 

The best way to protect a brand is to register it as a trade mark. When you have a trade mark you can stop infringers using your brand without your permission.

This means that if you find someone copying your branding or impersonating your business using a fake social media profile, you can stop them and potentially claim compensation for any damage they do.

Not only that, but by going through the trade mark registration process you can actually improve the strength of your brand and create a valuable asset for your business.

But are they right?

Let’s look at the risks of infringement first.

When assessing risk, there are two issues to consider. First, is what is the likelihood of an infringement happening? Then, if your brand is infringed, what damage could the infringement cause to your business?

In the past, the risk of infringement was low. It took a great deal of effort for an infringer to copy someone’s branding and then apply it to their own products and services.

Now, it’s far easier, which makes the risk very real.

All it takes is a few clicks and someone can copy your website or set up a fake social media profile including copying your brand and all of your content.

Likewise, the consequences of infringement are also increasing. With so much trade being conducted online, it’s very easy for infringers to redirect your customers and potential customers to their website.

Not only will this lead to you losing sales, but infringers can destroy your hard earned reputation too. A loss of trust and negative reviews could have much longer lasting and even more serious consequences for your business.

So, is the process of protecting your brand slow and expensive?

It can seem slow because there are specific requirements that your brand must fulfil and a process you must go through before you are to be granted full protection for it. But, it’s not time consuming because making an application is relatively quick and easy.

After completing your application, you just have to wait for the Intellectual Property Office to carry out all of their checks and approve your application. Then, there is a compulsory period of two months when your application is advertised in case anyone objects to it.

From start to finish, the whole process should take no longer than 3 to 6 months, but the good news is, after your trade mark has been registered, the protection is back dated to the date on which you made your application.

So, in reality, no time is lost and if an infringement occurred during that time, you could still take action against the infringer.

This means that a final decision on protection often comes down to cost.

Trade mark attorney and lawyer’s fees can vary hugely and it can be really difficult to make like-for-like comparisons between the services they provide.

As is often the case, you get what you pay for, so you need to choose with care!

Providers of the cheapest services put very little thought into the application and this can reflect in the amount of protection obtained.

I know that my services are towards the top end of the market but that’s because I do not compete on price. As a solicitor, I am duty bound to act in my clients’ best interests and something as important as brand protection shouldn’t be done on a minimal budget.

However, I also know that cost is still an issue for some of my clients and they will consider cheaper options thinking that some protection is better than none.

This concerned me, so I knew I had to find a way to bridge the gap and enable my clients to receive the best service at a much more competitive price.

Introducing the Brand Protection Toolkit

Here’s what’s included …

Video 1 – Introduction and a detailed look at why registering your brand is so important. Plus, how you can use your trade marks to increase the value of your business.

Video 2 – What makes a brand registerable and how to avoid your application being rejected by the Intellectual Property Office or opposed by a pre-existing trade mark owner. Also, what elements of your brand can be protected as a trade mark. (The list is longer than you might think!)

Video 3 – How much protection do you need? It’s important to gain as much protection as you can, but you mustn’t go too far or you could put your trade mark at risk of cancellation. In this video we look at the classes of goods and services, and the countries to consider registering your trade mark in.

Video 4 – How to carry out pre-application searches to ensure that your trade mark doesn’t conflict with any pre-existing trade marks. This covers searching for registered and unregistered trade marks

Video 5 – The five options you have if you find potentially conflicting trade marks during your pre-application searches.

Video 6 – A step by step guide to making your trade mark application

Video 7 – Dealing with challenges and oppositions to your trade mark application

Video 8 – Protecting your trade mark from infringers and how to prepare and send a “cease and desist letter” (Template included)

Video 9 – Final thoughts and how to make the most of your trade mark.

The Brand Protection Toolkit costs just £99 + VAT* and comes with a 30-day full money back guarantee.

*When you make your trade mark application you will have to pay an application fee to the Intellectual Property Office. These fees vary depending on the number of trade marks you register and the number of classes you include in each application. For online applications in the UK, prices start at £170 for one trade mark in one class. Additional classes are charged at £50 each. VAT is not payable on IPO fees. IPO fees are not included in the price of the Brand Protection Toolkit.

But remember ...

If you are comparing the price of this toolkit to the cost of using a solicitor or trade mark attorney, they will charge you per application they make.

With the Brand Protection Toolkit, you pay just once and can then use it for as many applications as you wish. Plus, it covers the action you should take post-registration to ensure you don’t lose any of the protection you have gained (something that won’t be included in the costs charged by a lawyer or trade mark attorney).

How do I know it works?

Quite simply because I have clients using it to protect their brands and they are successfully registering trade marks by following the advice contained within it.

Based on feedback, I have been refining the advice to make it as clear and easy to follow as possible and I will continue doing so.

Rebecca C said "David is amazing putting this toolkit together, he has been so helpful in the past when I have contacted him and when he said he had this toolkit for trademarking I just knew it would be easy to follow and execute and it really is. I honestly feel this is a great investment for our business and something we can use time and time again as we continue to grow and protect our brand. Thank you!"

The latest version of the toolkit is always available in the members area of the website so you don’t need to upgrade each time there is a new release or change in the law.

The Brand Protection Toolkit is brought to you by Grid Law Solicitors, a legal practice regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

It comes with a 30-day full money back guarantee.

Try it today, risk free. If you're not entirely satisfied, let me know and I'll give you a full refund - no questions asked.