How will your customers recognise you? And why will they buy from you?
These two questions are so important, and the answers may not be the same.
It is highly unlikely that, as a start-up or fledgling business that people will buy from you just because of your brand, even I they recognise it. So, whilst it is obviously important to protect your trade mark, logo and other recognisable brand elements, deeper thought needs to be given to how you’re going to protect your real USP.
Protect your real USP
Consider this…you develop a new product and spend £thousands on a marketing campaign to advertise it. It is unique. You are solving a problem or meeting a need for your target market and people start to take notice. They may start recognising your brand, what’s to stop a competitor from entering the market with a very similar product, that solves the same problem or meets the same need or desire, under a different name for half the price (because they don’t have to factor in the development costs)? Your expensive marketing campaign may even have gone some way to selling it for them. Your trade mark registration can stop them from using your name or logo, but it can’t stop them from coping your real USP.
Patents and Designs
This is where patents and designs come in. Registered designs protect the way a product looks. Patents protect the novel technical aspects. So, ask yourself, Why will my customers buy from me? Is it the unique way it looks? Then registered designs may be valuable. If, on the other hand, it offers some technical improvement over what has been done before, then patents may be hugely powerful in protecting your market share.
The message is simple; trade marks and branding are massively important in an age where consumers are becoming increasingly visual in their buying behaviour. But you cannot necessarily rely on those alone to protect your revenue stream. It takes time and money for a brand to become widely known, and others can easily slip into your space before you have gained proper traction.
The IDEA framework to protect your real USP
Invention – is your product technically different to, or better than, existing products?
Design – does it look better?
Expand – what other IP rights might sit around the core USP to help to protect it?
Advice – speak to a qualified IP attorney to make sure you’re protecting the things that will actually generate the revenue, before there is any non confidential disclosure of the product. Use NDAs if you need to speak to people during the development process.
Need Help?
Whether you’re a first-time product developer or an established tech business that keeps innovating to stay ahead of your competitors, we can help. Please book a free initial consultation by visiting our website: https://strachanip.co.uk/contact/ or emailing vicki.strachan@strachanip.co.uk or calling 07714797135. Alternatively, you can schedule something mutually convenient via our Calendly link: https://calendly.com/strachan-ip-a-fresh-view-of-intellectual-property/30min
