[trIPping] When people refuse to call your brand by its name: can you make them by enforcing trademark rights?
[this is trIPing, where we discuss the craziest ideas and possibilities in Intellectual Property. No final thoughts, no legal advice, just tripping]
Sometimes branding just does not work as planned. Creating a unique name for your brand and investing in marketing to spread its name will not always guarantee that consumers will refer to your brand properly. These incorrect mentions may hurt your branding KPIs and your business goals.
That may happen, for example, in naming rights related to sports. A sports stadium may receive a new name but some fans, journalists etc will insist on calling them by their old name. A company invested so much to make sure its brand’s name will be attached to the stadium’s name, so what to do when it doesn’t work?
And what about when customers create nicknames for your brand?
Marketing, branding, and PR strategies aside, one may wonder if there are any legal resources to make sure your brand’s name is respected.
There might be.
Using trademark rights to make people “call you by your name”
When faced with the challenge of people refusing to use your brand’s name, enforcing trademark rights can be a legal resource to consider.
Trademark rights are not meant just for protecting your company against copycats or licensing. They can also play a crucial role in protecting your brand’s identity and reputation.
In Brazil, article 130 of the Industrial Property Law says that the owner of a trademark application or registration has the right to watch over the trademark’s material integrity or reputation. So if your brand is not being properly referred and named, assuming you took all the necessary steps and investments to acquire trademark rights, it is reasonable that you’ll resort to a legal resource like this.
Deciding the best course of action
Of course, when your brand is not being correctly name-dropped, the decision to do something about it is not just a matter of assessment of your trademark rights. It’s also about whether it is or isn’t a good idea to do anything at all.
Who is doing that? Are you really willing to pick up a fight with this person/company? Is this really necessary? Can it spiral down?
Context is also important. When it comes to journalistic works, the mention of your old brand’s name may serve informational purposes. In informal discussions on social media or maybe just entertainment content, people are subject to freedom of expression, especially if no commercial tone is involved.
While the legal route is important, it’s equally important to manage the situation in the public eye.
The legal strategy should be forged along with the Media and Public Relations strategy.
It may feel like a lost opportunity when a customer makes a super nice post about your brand and everything but its name is mentioned. But what does it say about you if you stick your nose into a harmless comment and make it about your IP rights rather than the discourse your brand is generating? Isn’t there any way to turn this into a good thing?
Your communication strategy and your IP strategies should always go hand in hand.
So while it is great that your brand is properly covered by IP rights, sometimes it’s just better if you do not enforce them and instead invest in educating the public about the reasons behind your branding.
trIPing aims to be a fun and relaxed space to discuss IP theories and possibilities. Our thoughts are based on the laws in force at the time it was written, but please do not use this post as legal advice. Seek a lawyer.
This blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship, nor replaces professional legal services or business consultancy services.
3Três Consultoria e Criação (Consulting & Creative) specializes in the intersection of creative, Intellectual Property Law, and communication services.
Contact us at: contato@3trescc.com
