What’s your favorite brand of water? Evian? Aquafina? VOSS?
If I put various glasses of water side by side, without the bottles and labels, could you look at each one and know DEFINITELY which brand was which? If you tasted each one, would you DEFINITELY know which brand was which?
I don’t think I’d be very good at a test like that!
Without the logos, company names, and bottle designs, I’d probably think the different brands of water basically taste the same.
And this, my friend, is why trademarks are so important.
Trademarks communicate your product’s quality to your customers and clients. If I’m convinced that VOSS is the greatest water ever, I’m willing to pay the $10 in my hotel room to drink that versus putting a cup straight under the tap!
Trademarks also represent the trust relationship between you and the people who buy from you.
For example, I trust Apple’s iOS system on my iPhone. In my mind, I believe it is easier to use and more secure than other types of phone systems. But, if all phones looked exactly the same and did not have special designs or logos or colors, it would be impossible for me to know which operating system I was buying in a row of samesies.
As a buyer, I want to know these things. I want to know that, if I like something, I can go out and buy it, or other things like it. as many times as I want.
So, basically, trademarks are a shortcut for signaling to people that they should buy from you.
This is why I believe trademarks are so important for entrepreneurs (I know may be biased!).
This episode of The Shontavia Show will be the first of many about trademarks.
In this episode of The Shontavia Show, I run through trademarks 101–I talk about the different types of trademarks that exist, the legal requirements for obtaining a trademark, and the spectrum of free-to-expensive ways to protect your trademark.
If you’ve ever wondered what a trademark is and whether you have any, check out this episode!
Check out the full episode below:
Show Highlights
- 01:08 How trademarks protect the relationship between entrepreneur and customer/client.
- 03:16 What is a trademark? The definition and examples
- 04:00 AKA SKEE WEE trademark example (no disrepect to AKAs intended!)
- 05:00 The legal requirements to have a protectable trademark
- 07:34 The 4 trademark categories: arbitrary/fanciful, suggestive, merely descriptive, and generic
- 14:22 4 ways to protect your trademark
Questions and Action: Do you have trademarks?
After you’ve had a chance to watch the video, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!
Please answer the questions relevant to your current situation:
1. What logos, colors, phrases, songs, or other things do your clients/customers identify with you?
2. What words, phrases, colors, songs, etc. have you created in your business that, if copied by a third party, would have a detrimental impact ?
3. What is your strategy to protect your brand? If you don’t have one, what is a baby step you could take today?
Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’m happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want.
Check out the show notes at the end of this page for links and resources from this episode.
Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience.
I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with creators, entrepreneurs and innovators like yourself.
Let’s continue to make it happen,
Show Notes
AKA’s “Skee Wee” Sound is Now a Registered Trademark: https://popcultureclass.com/2017/01/12/akas-skee-wee-sound-is-now-a-registered-trademark/
Goats on the Roof: Iconic Wisconsin Restaurant Wins Trade Dress Dispute: http://www.dewittllp.com/news-education/posts/2019/12/16/goats-on-the-roof-iconic-wisconsin-restaurant-wins-trade-dress-dispute
How to protect and register your trademarks: https://shontavia.com/how-to-protect-and-register-your-trademarks/
What does it mean to “use” a trademark?: https://shontavia.com/what-does-it-mean-to-use-a-trademark-little-word-big-question/
You can trademark almost anything : https://shontavia.com/you-can-trademark-almost-anything/
Secretary of State’s Offices: https://tinyurl.com/w4fye7l
Registering your business: A directory: https://shontavia.com/where-to-incorporate-your-business-a-directory/
Podcast Episode
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