Should startups prioritize registering trademarks for their logo, name and taglines?

Text Transcript

Travis Stegemoller, Trademark Attorney: Startups should prioritize trademarking their brand and some of their trade dress. However, more realistically a lot of times startups are lean – they don’t have a lot of budget – and trademarks can be a little bit more of an expensive registration process, and certainly on the enforcement side. So you kind of have to weigh the benefit of having that protection versus do you need it now?

And the question I would consider is: where are we on the growth trajectory? Are we doing business out of our own state? Are we trying to establish a brand in many geographic areas? Are we trying to take market share from some of our competitors in a crowded space? And if some of those answers are “Yes,” then you should put a high priority on when you register for the trademark.

Ultimately, if you’re going to be a successful company, you’re going to want to have a registration on it anyways. It protects the goodwill in your brand. If you’re trying to attract investors, they see that as a sign that you take the business seriously, and that also there is a value that is being protected. So the question of when, though, really depends on: how quickly are you planning to grow?