In the inventing world, a lot of attention is paid to patenting. Often overlooked is the power of a trademark–a wonderful tool that can provide an incredible value when it comes to protecting your product or brand name.
But what’s the difference between a patent and a trademark?
While a patent protects utilitarian inventions–the design and function of the actual thing you create–a trademark identifies a source of goods or services like a product name, company name or brand.
A trademark, however, which costs a mere fraction of a patent to register, can be just as valuable, and they’re often easier and less cumbersome to enforce.
A trademark can become one of your company’s most important and valuable assets.
For example, consider all the brands you know, trust and prefer.
There are MP3 players, and then there’s the iPod. There’s ice cream, then there’s Ben & Jerry’s. There are beach shoes, then there are Crocs.
These trademarked names have immeasurable value, and they’re protected. You couldn’t open up an ice cream shop in your town and call it Ben & Jerry’s without a quick visit from a powerful lawyer.
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