What Is a Brand?
A brand is NOT a logotype, it is NOT an identity manual, and it is NOT a product. - So, what then...
A Clubhouse Session with Per Ahlström
As a Senior Client Manager, Per Ahlström at Ports Group has experienced a vast variety of good and bad decision-makings concerning legal and technical handlings of brands. It is a challenging world, where you have to navigate carefully in gustily waters. There are literally pirates out there, looking for an opportunity to profit on your brand or steal your domain, and you need a good lookout to spot them in time.
Most business owners tend to focus on the marketing aspects of the brand, and many business owners manage to forget, or simply do not understand the legal aspects of the brand. This lack of attention, or knowledge, can negatively affect your business while opening the door for competitors and other opportunists to profit from your hard work. We had a good, long talk with Per Ahlström during the Expresso Club at Clubhouse, where he gave us a valuable lesson about the importance of the legal aspect of your brand.
"It might seem obvious," Per explained, "but the most important thing is to do your homework from the very start. Try to think of a unique name and do your research; Is there anyone in your field with a similar name? The best brand names are unique as well as not descriptive. You wouldn't want to sell coffee using the brand name coffee. Do you think Spotify would have had the same success if they were named Music Stream? Probably not."
Per Ahlström knows what needs to be known, and more, about the legal difficulties around brand names. Before relying too much on the name or spending time and money, make sure to conduct a preliminary permit investigation. This ensures that you will not infringe other companies’ trademarks, which may lead to litigation or force you to undergo an expensive rebranding process. ”To buy cheap is to buy expensive, in this case!”.
Per gives us a crucial example of doing things right, but only go halfway: “When you register a domain, do not forget to register the trademark rights as well”.
He tells us a story of a Swedish brand that did almost everything right before its launch in the USA. They bought the .com-domain connected to their name and brand for a sizeable sum, but right before the launch, they realized the brand who they bought the domain also owns the trademark rights in the US. They had not considered this in their eagerness to buy the domain and therefore had no trademark rights in the US. - A hard lesson learned.
After making sure that you have safeguarded your name, it is time to look into domain names. There are no 4-letter combinations that end with .com available. So this is a whole other legal aspect of your brand. We asked Per Ahlström about his prediction for the future of this aspect of building brands.
"Given that this becomes increasingly important during the pandemic, we are expecting to see more 'dark forces' trying to make money and scam people within this field. We have seen fraud become more common, and we have to keep an eye out for 'brand pirates'. Once you have found a name, register the domain name (s) first, and then submit the trademark application. This is because trademark applications, as opposed to domain names, are public and are readily available on the Internet. There are pirates who scan the brand databases and snare the domain names in front of one's eyes. Then a major delay in launch and expensive legal costs await."
Per concludes by reminding us that to take on professional help in the legal work behind a brand, as well as the name setting and the domain purchase, is much less expensive than most expect.
“A trademark application in the EU starts around 2000 USD but buying a domain name can cost anywhere from 50-500 000 USD depending on the circumstances."
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