How Do I Protect My Brand?

New businesses are created every day, especially with the increase in internet accessibility.  You can now develop a new idea and become a business owner with the click of a few buttons, you’re live on the internet. Unfortunately, this too often results in infringement of other established brands. Brand protection is necessary to stop infringement. Brand infringement cause businesses to lose billions annually.

If you are currently a business owner, It is very likely that your business has intellectual property that attracts customers and creates revenue. Whether it be a recognized trademark, copyright or patent, every single business has some sort of intellectual property.  Whether you know it or not, your intellectual property is the reason your business earns revenue. 

Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs simply do not know their rights regarding their intellectual property, and if they know, they’re not sure how to go about protecting it. I work with small businesses every day, and it’s alarming to hear about how much revenue is being lost due to infringement on their brand. 

Brand protection helps thriving businesses protect their reputation and maintain the integrity of their products and services. There are several ways to implement brand protection for your business. I’m going to detail some of the most common means for small businesses to implement a plan. 

In House Reviews

Due to fear of driving up overhead costs, many entrepreneurs have relied on the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) plan of action. There is nothing wrong with this, if you know what you are doing. In-house review and monitoring is the most cost-efficient mode of brand protection, but it has the most holes. Many instances of infringement can be missed simply because the business owner was unaware of it or did not know what to do about it.

Automated Software

There are a number of software companies creating new programs to track down and eliminate infringing products around the world. However, your copyrighted works are often missed by the software. It is also common for infringers to just make subtle changes to original works but even derivative works often still constitute copyright infringement, and the software may not catch the derivative works even though they are copyright infringement. The software is also not the most cost efficient option.

Entreprelegal Copyright System

Entreprelegal is a more cost-efficient than automated software and closes the gaps between in-house reviews and automated software. It is a proactive approach, so clients never have to worry about infringers. Once an infringement is identified, Entreprelegal immediately has the content removed. There are different levels of enrollment, so the program works for all business sizes. You can learn about the specifics of my subscription models here. 

No matter level of brand protection you choose for your business, you have to be proactive. Protect your intellectual property or lose it.