Why Should I Care About Trademarks?

Intellectual property, including trademarks, help drive innovation, create jobs, and spur on the worldwide economy. Trademarks are important for everyone, from the everyday small business owners to the largest corporations. And for consumers, brand names on products represent a promise of quality and consistency. The protection of brands through trademarks help make it possible for this promise to be kept and relied on.

Did you know that the estimated total of counterfeit goods sold each year is equal to one of the ten largest economies in the world? Counterfeit products hurt the pockets of small business owners and largest corporations, but also impact consumers around the world. Counterfeits may be more criminal than you realize: the production and sale of counterfeits are largely tied to criminal activity including organized crime, child labor, human trafficking, and slavery. Counterfeits impact livelihoods and are estimated to be responsible for the loss of 2.5 million jobs globally each year. Counterfeits are also a risk to health and safety: fake pharmaceuticals and medicines can cause serious health implications and counterfeit products can break or fail causing physical harm. Trademark protection can be one tool that offers protection and recourse against counterfeits that promote criminals, hurt the economy, and put consumers at risk.

Intellectual property law can be complicated, but the basics don’t have to be. That’s a Trademark was created to point a spotlight at brand awareness and provide an easy and entertaining look at trademark law. We hope you enjoy our use of (poorly drawn) stick figures to help visually explain the weird world of trademarks.

Want to learn more about trademarks? Check out our posts on “Intellectual” Property? Sounds Made Up., Color (Non-Traditional) Marks, and Hologram (Non-Traditional) Marks.

Copyright © 2024 by Illustrated IP, LLC. All rights reserved.