The Fashion Biz Trademark Strategy
Quick question; what makes your business unique? The unique value which you sell to your clients distinguishes your brand from that of your competitors. This unique value is usually created as a result of a clear branding strategy. Major brands in the world invest a whole lot into branding. In the fashion industry, in order to keep clients and keep the interest of their customers, companies consistently seek for ways to distinguish themselves from their competitors and raise awareness about their style and brand to the public. having a branding strategy is one way and protecting that branding strategy is another by generating a trademark strategy.
Creating a trademark strategy involves understanding your product, your branding strategy and developing a means by which your brand can simultaneously be distinguished and protected which would result into profit for your business. In generating a trademark strategy, you have to understand what a trademark means, it is a sign used to distinguish a brand in the marketing and sale of goods and services. This could consist of anything such as a word, image, color, scent, a logo.
As a fashion brand an effective way of protecting your brand would be through trademarks, while unregistered trademark still provides companies some level of protection, having a registered trademark is the safest route. There is this popular quote that I heard a while back that people buy labels and not fashion. Several fashion companies have built the strength of their labels by investing in their brand value and the quality of their product. I would buy a Nike shoe for the swoosh sign, the experience and the quality, there are several sneakers in the market, there are several brands, but in shopping I will consider a Nike, an Adidas, maybe a Puma primarily because of the brand value and experience I will be getting as a customer. This applies to majority of individuals that purchase items, think about it, when you want to purchase a product, what do you consider?
Most of this companies that have built solid brands have registered trademarks as means of protection. I usually make emphasis on the need for a protection but in this article I am not going to do that, as a business owner and as a creative, I believe your product has a value, I believe your business was built with a plan and a purpose, if the goal is to be like everyone else then please stop here but if you are building an exceptional brand then continue reading.
In branding, it is necessary that every step you make you are deliberate about it, when you get your branding right then you can move ahead to create a trademark strategy and to register your trademark. A primary benefit of having a registered trademark is that, it is a solid legal basis on which to prevent others from imitating your brand. This is advisable, as imitators have the potential to damage potential and diminish sales.
In a scenario, where another business is using a sign that is substantially identical or deceptively similar to your trademark, contact your lawyer and your lawyer will issue a cease and desist letter or take them to court.
To learn more about the Branding Strategy and The Trademark Strategy join the AFL WhatsApp community, we have an interesting upcoming online class, which is solely for the benefit of fashion entrepreneurs. So, make sure you join the community in order to stay updated.
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