Trademark Plan for Austin Startups
It is important that you don’t get out ahead of putting together a proper trademark plan for your Austin, Texas startup.
Doing so is like getting too far forward on your snow skis when you hit heavy powder. Every startup needs an intellectual property plan which includes a trademark plan.
Here are a few simple steps we recommend for startups developing a trademark plan:
- First identify your business strategy and where you intend to do business (geographically)
- Second, meet with your trademark attorney for advice on selecting product names, service names, and taglines
- Choose your potential brand(s)
- Meet with your trademark attorney to perform a proper trademark clearance search
- Use the search data to fine tune your trademark plan
- Register your trademark(s)
What to Register
Many Austin startups are effective at developing a business plan. They often meet with a high-quality marketing and branding agency to develop product or service names, product packaging, labels, etc. That is a wonderful way to start. However, it is important that your company have a trademark plan that aligns with the marketing and branding strategy. A trademark plan is simply a plan that identifies which product or service names the company wants to treat as a trademark and then outlines which marks should be registered in the United States, which marks should be registered in foreign countries and what specifically to register. In other words, should you register just the product name, just the logo or a combination of both? Should you register taglines? Which products or services should be included in the registration? Is your brand distinctive enough to build goodwill value over time?
A great trademark plan aligns with the company’s business strategy.
If you are uncertain how to develop a trademark plan, we are here to assist you. Developing a trademark plan does not have to be an expensive step. We can help you align your trademark plan with your business strategy in a way that will maximize your brand value.
If you are interested in learning more about developing an effective trademark plan you can reach us at austintrademarks@bltg-ip.com.