Trademark Basics: How to Protect Your Brand Name, Logo, and Slogan

Your brand is an asset. Learn when and how to trademark your business name and logo, and how to avoid infringing on someone else’s IP.

How to Protect Your Brand Name, Logo, and Slogan

Your brand isn’t just a name slapped on a business card—it’s your reputation, your image, and your intellectual property. And in today’s increasingly saturated marketplace, trademark protection isn’t optional. It’s survival.

In this guide, we’ll walk through what trademarks are, how they work, why they matter, and the steps you can take to secure your business identity before someone else does.

What Is a Trademark, Exactly?

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, design—or a combination of these—that distinguishes the source of goods or services of one party from those of others. This could be your company name, logo, product packaging, or even a slogan like Nike’s “Just Do It.”

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), registering your trademark is the only way to secure exclusive rights to use your brand in commerce at the federal level.

🧠 A recent study found that businesses with registered trademarks are over 25% more likely to scale beyond the startup phase.

Why Trademark Protection Matters

• It gives you legal ownership of your brand.

• It makes it easier to shut down copycats or counterfeiters.

• It builds trust with customers and adds market value.

• It can be licensed or sold as an asset.

Without a registered trademark, your business could be legally forced to rebrand if another company makes a claim. That includes changing your logo, name, website domain—and explaining it all to confused customers.

Need proof? Just ask the folks at BurgerIM who went through a messy rebranding and legal turmoil after their intellectual property protections fell apart.

The Trademark Registration Process

Here’s the basic 6-step path to getting your trademark federally registered through the USPTO:

1. Search existing trademarks using the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).

2. File your application through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).

3. Submit your specimen (that’s a fancy way of saying a real-world example of your logo/name in use).

4. Respond to office actions if the USPTO flags any issues.

5. Publication for opposition allows others to challenge it.

6. Final registration—you’re officially trademarked!

Want a visual explainer? This 3-minute video by the USPTO breaks it down nicely.

📊 According to the USPTO, there were over 440,000 new trademark applications filed in 2023 alone (USPTO FY2023 Performance)—up 13% from the previous year.

Avoiding Infringement (And Lawsuits)

Before filing your application, run a comprehensive trademark search to avoid conflicts. If you skip this and accidentally use a mark that’s too similar to someone else’s, you could face legal action or have your application denied.

Tools like LegalZoom's Trademark Search or working with an attorney can help you steer clear of trouble.

In fact, 1 in 5 small businesses has faced a trademark dispute, according to data from TechCrunch.

What You Can Trademark (and What You Can’t)

✅ You can trademark:

• Business names

• Logos

• Taglines

• Packaging designs

🚫 You can’t trademark:

• Generic terms (like “coffee” for a coffee shop)

• Descriptive phrases (“best pizza in town” won’t cut it)

• Anything already in widespread use

More details are available in Nolo’s Trademark Guide.

Maintenance and Enforcement

Your job doesn’t end after the trademark is approved.

You’ll need to:

• Use the ™ or ® symbol appropriately

• File maintenance documents between years 5–6 and again every 10 years (USPTO maintenance schedule)

• Actively monitor for infringement using tools like Trademarkia

If someone infringes on your mark, consult a trademark attorney to explore cease-and-desist letters or litigation.

Your brand is one of your most valuable assets. It deserves legal protection. Taking time now to register your trademark can prevent major headaches down the road—and help you sleep at night knowing your identity is safe.

As branding expert Marty Neumeier put it:

“A brand is not what you say it is. It's what they say it is.”

Let them say it with confidence.