The holidays are a time for making memories and sharing traditions with friends and family. Help your customers get into the spirit!
How? With a holiday brand identity for your business.
Branding your business for the holidays and incorporating seasonal assets are some of the best ways to help make your business part of the season.
But just like your other branding elements, you need to make sure to protect them by registering them as intellectual property. Trademarking your holiday assets can help give you peace of mind and safeguard your brand all season long.
What is a holiday trademark?
Holiday trademarks are used for products or services marketed or sold during the holidays. They typically consist of branding elements such as imagery, graphics, or fonts.
To give one example, a company might have a trademark for their holiday-themed logo. Even though that logo is only used for a few months, one reason why they would register it as a trademark is to prevent others from using it, especially during this important time of year.
4 Tips To Protect Your Holiday Brand Identity
First and foremost, to create a holiday brand identity, you’ll need a variety of unique assets. Work with creative professionals to inclide festive color schemes, holiday taglines, and seasonal package designs.
Before finalizing and approving them, conduct a thorough trademark search to make sure that everything is original and doesn’t infringe on existing trademarks. A simple step like this can help prevent you from unintentionally infringing on someone else’s intellectual property.
Once your holiday assets are ready, here are a few ways you can protect them:
Use trademark symbols
The importance of creating original assets goes beyond their aesthetic value. Aside from helping your brand be more memorable, they are also easier to register as trademarks.
As soon as your assets have been trademarked, they should be accompanied by the – ® symbol. Doing so indicates that they are protected and cannot be used without your consent. If you don’t want to register, we recommend using ™ for some basic protection.
Monitoring for unauthorized use of your holiday trademarks
Sometimes using a trademark symbol isn’t enough. You may also want to consider trademark monitoring. By keeping an eye out for any unauthorized use of your trademarked holiday materials, you can take action early on before it leads to further damage and customer confusion.
Responding quickly not only protects your intellectual property, but it also makes a strong statement that you care about preserving your brand’s quality and reputation.
Educate employees and partners on holiday trademark usage
These seasonal assets need to be used properly to keep your brand image clean and consistent. Set clear guidelines for their use and provide them to your team members.
Make sure your employees understand the importance of trademarks and how they should be used. Additionally, they should be trained on how to identify potential trademark infringements. Everyone on board must understand that trademark infringement is a serious issue and should be avoided at all costs.
Consult with a trademark attorney
Protecting your brand identity is essential, not only during the holiday season but all year round. If you need legal guidance on holiday trademark registration, enforcement, and infringement, contact us. Our intellectual property attorneys are here to assist you and guide you through these processes.
If You Need Consulting Regarding Holiday Trademarks, Sanchelima & Associates Can Help
Sanchelima & Associates, P.A. is one of the leading intellectual property law firms in South Florida. With over 40 years of experience, we have represented the IP interests of a wide array of businesses in the US and abroad, including Fortune 500 companies. Whether you need a consultation or prosecution of a patent, trademark, or copyright, we can protect your business’s interests.
Contact us to book your consultation!
