Should I register my Trade Mark when I start my business or wait until I become more established?
A registered trade mark does important things for your business. Two of these are:
- It prevents others from infringing your brand; and
- It can be used as an absolute defence against some else alleging that you infringe their registered Trade Mark.
Most people are aware of the first item, but few people seem to be aware of the second item. At the start of a business, having the ability to defend against a Trade Mark litigation attack can be extremely valuable to your business.
If you infringe someone else’s trade mark and you do not have your trade mark registered, that can shut you down (injunction) and leave you with a huge bill (legal damages, legal costs).
Increasingly, TM troll businesses are becoming increasingly prevalent and registering trade marks of businesses that do not have their brands trade marked and then threatening litigation for damages and injunctions or offer to on-sell at an exorbitant price to those businesses or to their competitors.
It is best to trade mark at the start of your business or you could face major legal issues that could doom your business to failure or at least cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
