Branding For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 17

Defending Your Brand Legally and through Careful Usage

In This Chapter

Calling dibs on your brand identity

Claiming 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 high-risk condition for most brands.

This chapter helps you fortify your brand in two ways. First, it details how to take preemptive action by registering your brand identity so that others can’t use it — or so 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 ...