Five steps to strengthen and protect your brand
In a world where branding and brand recognition is increasingly important to differentiate yourself in a competitive market, Humna Nadim, Managing Associate in the Intellectual Property (IP) team at TLT sets out 5 steps to help you remain ahead of the curve.
- IP Portfolio Management and Protection
Securing your IP is essential to protecting your brand (logos, slogans, innovations and creations). This protection could be via trade mark registrations, patents and design right registrations. These rights will not only help you enforce your IP rights against a third party but also enable you to financially exploit your IP by way of licences or similar agreements. Once you have registrations, you may want to consider:
- Trade mark/ patent/ design right watching services;
- A review of existing licences or assignments in place; and
- An annual review of your trade marks and usage.
The latter point is particularly important for registered trade marks over 5 years old, as they may become vulnerable to revocation or invalidation if they are not used as registered.
- Monitoring Your Online Reputation
Reviews can influence up to £23 billion of consumer spending annually. With that in mind, fake reviews making negative comments can damage not only a business’ bottom line but also its reputation.
It is important to implement a robust review monitoring system and deal with fake reviews quickly, collecting and reviewing any internal evidence which outlines a different factual position (e.g. no purchase history is linked to the reviewer). We normally suggest that if businesses engage with the author of the comments directly, that this is done through direct messaging or email instead of a public review board. If this is unsuccessful outcome, you may want to instruct a solicitor to review the publication to determine if it would be deemed as defamatory.
- Digital Asset Protection
It is widely recognised that many potential customers will review a business’s online presence before engaging with them., whether that be its website or social media. Therefore, it is important to safeguard potential domain names (and variations of the same) and social media handles. This is key to not only achieving a cohesive brand identity but also, to prevent opportunistic third parties cyber squatting, misleading customers and fraudulently offering services or goods, without intending to provide them. You may want to consider a Digital Asset watching service that provides a monthly report of concerning domains, handles, or Amazon listings that might be a concern.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
It’s now hailed as the fifth industrial revolution, where humans work alongside AI technology. AI is envisioned to boost productivity and cut costs for businesses, such as through generative AI creating content or advertising images. However, using AI brings its own wave of risks that are important to be aware of:
- The ownership on outputted content: It’s not a given that you will own the generated image or text, it is important to read the terms and conditions;
- Regulation of material being input into the software: AI software typically learns from any input you provide, so be mindful of entering confidential information or other intellectual property; and
- Infringement by AI output: As above, most models are trained on third-party datasets that include various IP. Consequently, outputs may contain third-party IP that you are not permitted to use.
- Image protection
Images, videos and quotations used for content creation must only be utilised when they are not infringing copyright e.g. using a client logo without permission in marketing materials. To prevent your business being on the receiving end of fines, damages or court proceedings, it is wise to: (1) seek permission from the content owner; (2) use stock images that you are licenced to use; and (3) use licence-free images where owners have given their permission.
Conclusion
By following these five steps, you can significantly enhance your brand’s protection and value. Don’t leave your business vulnerable – take proactive measures to secure your IP and build a resilient, recognisable brand that stands the test of time.