Protecting Your Small Business Opportunity with Logo and Trademark

A Home Business Article Contributed by Sharon Hill

Keeping Your Small Business Opportunity Yours

Your firm needs to be unique - something potential customers will remember as yours, to enhance the success of your small business opportunity. Before you do any advertising or marketing you'll want a logo, and a trademark.

An eye-catching logo is a crucial part of your small business branding - your best opportunity to send our a unique message on each document or marketing message you send out - direct mail pieces, invoices, newsletters, web site, advertising billboard and so forth. You will want your logo and your trademark in place before your first advertising message is scheduled.

A logo should be simple - something that a consumer will easily remember and recognize, and something easily read. Enlist the help of a graphic designer, or a graphic design college student. The latter will save you money. While color is always more eye-catching, remember that there are times, especially in print advertising, when you won't be able to afford to pay the extra color fee. Make sure your graphic designer chooses colors that will reproduce well in a black and white version.

Or better yet, have the designer give you several camera-ready sizes of your logo in both black and white and color.

Small Business Opportunity Trademark Creation

Now you need your trademark. There are several steps to creating your trademark. Of course, you need to have some idea what you want as your trademark. Then you need to make sure no one else is using it. Finally, you'll need to register your trademark to make it yours.

What is a trademark? It's a slogan, motto, name or distinguishing symbol that identifies a firm and makes it unique from competitors. The dripping cup, and the words, "Good to the Last Drop" are Maxwell House's trademark. Even your business name and web address can be considered a trademark.

When you choose your trademark be distinctive. If, for instance, your firm produces writing instruments you'll probably have a problem calling your company, "Fine Pens, " and using as a slogan, "Fine Pens Write Fine." Why? Because it's too generic. But if you named your company "Your Write Hand" and chose as a slogan, "Your Best Business Friend is Your Write Hand" your trademark would probably be approved. It's unique, and not likely to already be in use - or is it? You never know.

There are millions of trademarks already chosen. So, before you start putting together your advertising and marketing campaign put together four or five possible trademark options, then start your trademark search to see which, if any, are available.

Registering Your Small Business Opportunity Trademark

Go to the U.S. Trademark and Patent office (PTO) web site and conduct a free search (check both registered and pending registration trademarks.) Then go to two websites - Network Solutions and Thomas Register - to check for unregistered trademarks and domain names. Remember, not only do you not want to duplicate - you also want your small business opportunity trademark to be totally dissimilar from others. If you find something close, something someone might mistakenly associate with you, change your trademark.

There are also firms that will do the search for you - Thomson and Thomson, and Trademark Express are two. Of course, doing it yourself will save you money.

Once you have found and decided on a unique trademark for your small business opportunity you can register it at the PTO site - you'll need to pay online or by mail for the registration. The price range varies but will be over $200.