Your One Registered Trademark Isn’t Enough

Welcome back to another episode of the Own Your Genius podcast. I’m Attorney LaConya Murray. Before we get into today’s podcast, let me give you a backstory on how we got here. If you don’t know, I am a volleyball mom. My kids play volleyball. My oldest played volleyball, and my two youngest play volleyball. I’m that mom on the sidelines, jumping up and down, cheering, and coaching from the sidelines, even though one of my kids told me I need to chill out a little because it doesn’t help.

A couple of weeks ago, we were at a tournament, and the kids were there for two days straight. One day we were there for 13 hours. The first kid played at seven, and when she finished, the second kid played until eight. So we were there all day. The kids were snacking, and one of them had this popcorn. It looked so good—white popcorn with chocolate and something else drizzled on it. I saw the bag and the brand was Sweet Chaos. I told myself when I saw that brand, I’d pick it up. Long story short, I went to Walmart, found the brand, and the popcorn was everything. I wish they sold it in a bigger bag, but that’s not the purpose of today’s podcast.

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I posted a picture of the popcorn bag and asked you what you spied. I spied, with my little eye, at least three trademarks, which brought up the question: how many trademarks do you need? For most people, one registered trademark is not enough.

That Sweet Chaos popcorn bag had at least three trademarks. They had the name Sweet Chaos, a tagline that said “delightfully disruptive,” and another that said “taste starts here.” All of these are brand identifiers. When we talk about trademarks, I always say that trademarks protect brand identifiers. These are things that help consumers identify the source of a good or service. In this case, when someone hears “taste starts here,” they might think of Sweet Chaos, and that’s what you want—to create brand identifiers that connect with your consumers and build that connection.

Many businesses have more than one brand identifier. You might have your name, tagline, logo, or colors—different ways to connect with people. But when it comes to registering a trademark, many small business owners want to trademark just their trade name, or they want to register everything as one. Let’s get into why that may not be the best approach.

To start, why is one registered trademark not enough? The first reason is that you likely have more than one brand identifier. While you’re listening, think of all the brand identifiers you have. For each brand, you might have a name, tagline, logo, or another tagline. So why stop at one? Protecting each of your brand identifiers makes your brand stronger. Think of it as a fortress. If you have just one trademark, it’s like sending one soldier to defend the line.

The second reason is that registering everything as one mark can weaken your brand. For example, if you register your name, logo, and tagline together but then use them separately, the protection is limited to how you registered it. Someone else might use a part of your name, and the likelihood of confusion could be lower because you registered everything together. Instead, register each element separately. There are cases where you might also want to register them together, like with Kobe Bryant’s Mamba brand, but always consider registering your brand identifiers as you use them.

The third reason one trademark isn’t enough is that many businesses have more than one brand. Target, for example, has almost a thousand trademarks because they have multiple brands like Threshold and Cat & Jack, each with their own brand identifiers. You don’t have to be a big business to take this approach. You can build your business, become profitable, and then add other offers.

If you’re building a brand to leave a legacy or create generational wealth, you want to make sure that brand is protected. Brands that have been around for hundreds of years were able to do so by protecting their trademarks. And remember, taking your brand seriously makes your consumers and competitors take it seriously too.

The takeaway from today’s episode is to be more aware of the different trademarks in your business. Take inventory of your trademarks and the brands they associate with. Decide which one is a priority, and go from there. When you take your brand seriously, others will too. You don’t have to be a big brand to start protecting your business.

If you have questions about today’s episode, head over to the Genius Lounge and drop your questions in the comments. If you got any a-ha moments or takeaways, please take a moment to leave a review and share this podcast with three friends. Until next time, keep building your business, growing your brand, and owning your genius.