Many business owners forget that trademark registration doesn’t prevent others from copying your brand: it only gives you the legal right to defend yourself. It would help if you had eyes everywhere, watching for every copycat and corner-cutter trying to profit from your brand’s reputation.
Everything from brand color, such as Tiffany’s trademark blue, to iconic sounds like MGM’s lion’s roar can be trademarked to protect your brand’s key identifiers. Don’t let your brand’s identity slip through your fingers by forgetting about trademark monitoring.
What is Trademark Monitoring?
Trademark monitoring is a service that tracks potential trademark infringements and provides advance warning when they occur. Trademark monitoring services scan new trademark registrations that might infringe on your marks, as well as tracking social media and e-commerce to discover potential copycats.
Some infringement is unintentional: another company may land on a similar name to yours simply because it sounds great. At other times, brand thieves get creative: they’ll copy your logo, sell knockoffs under your name, grab similar domain names, or create fake social media accounts pretending to be you. That’s why successful companies don’t go it alone.
They use monitoring services that constantly scan trademark databases, global markets, and online channels for threats. These services catch both blatant copycats and subtle imitators trying to profit from your brand’s success. When they spot trouble, you get an alert.
Why is Trademark Monitoring Important?
Money spent on trademark monitoring pays for itself many times over. Just ask Apple, who discovered 22 fake stores in a single Chinese city, with employees in blue shirts and that famous fruit logo. Those fakes could have wrecked their reputation without fast action and stolen millions in sales.
But catching fakes is only part of the story. Early detection saves you from expensive legal battles later. It’s the difference between sending a warning letter (cheap and effective) and fighting a federal lawsuit (expensive and draining).
Plus, courts also favor companies that actively defend their marks. If you let violations slide too long, judges might decide you’ve abandoned your trademark rights.
Meanwhile, your competitors never sleep. They’ll study your success, copy your methods, and try sliding similar marks past trademark offices worldwide. Miss these threats early, and you’ll burn years — and mountains of cash — trying to fix the damage.
Who Needs Trademark Monitoring?
Have you got a trademark? Then you need to protect it — no exceptions. While Tesla and Starbucks spend millions on trademark monitoring, here’s the shocking truth: 80% of small businesses get hit by online counterfeiters. Size doesn’t matter. Everyone’s a target.
Many small companies skip protection, thinking they’re too small for criminals to notice, but the truth is that smaller brands make perfect targets because they often lack the resources to fight back.
If you’ve poured time and money into building your brand, leaving it unprotected isn’t an option. Whether you’re selling handmade soaps or running a neighborhood gym, remember this: the moment your brand gains any traction, someone’s already plotting to copy it.
Trademark Monitoring from Trademark by Atom
Our Trademark Monitoring keeps brand protection simple with three service tiers. Our free Lite plan watches for copycat domain names, giving you a heads-up when someone registers a similar web address. Step up to our Full Monitoring package, and you’ll catch everything from similar trademark filings to apps trying to piggyback on your brand name.
Need more advanced protection? Our Protection Package adds legal muscle to monitoring, providing protection letters you can use to defend your brand. Trademark monitoring is a key ongoing process in brand building — start today.
