Branding For Dummies®

Chapter 18. Defending Your Brand

In This Chapter

• Calling “dibs” on your brand identity

• Protecting your brand legally

• Protecting your brand with usage rules

For all their strengths, brands are vulnerable. They're susceptible to infringement by competitors who use disarmingly similar names or logos. Plus they're open to attack by friends and foes alike, who intentionally or innocently mess with your brand's identity and erode your brand strength in the process.

The reasons to protect your brand are many, but none tops the fact that, when brands undergo competitive attack or weak management, marketplace confusion follows. And marketplace confusion is a fatal condition for most brands.

This chapter helps you fortify your brand in two ways. First, it tells you how to take preemptive action by registering your brand identity so that others can't use it — or so that you can take legal action if they do. Second, it lays out a plan for managing the presentation of your brand, beginning with usage guidelines and ending with usage enforcement.

Strong brands thrive under the careful watch of brand owners who never blink and who never turn a blind eye to brand management mishaps or transgressions. The old line “You snooze, you lose” could have been written as advice for brand managers. Vigilance is the prescription for brand strength and the antidote for brand erosion.

Immunizing Your Brand with Government Filings and Trademarks

The extent to which you protect your name legally hinges on the size of ...