Trademarks
This week we will be talking about trademarks as well as other intellectual property. Seth Godin has written a blog post regarding "What every entrepreneur, geek, brand manager and marketer needs to know about trademarks...".
Yes, the article does talk about the iPod[TM]as we have in class. He also goes on to discuss a number of other common terms as well.
How important are trademarks?
Where do you think decisions on trademarks should be made in the innovation process?
Gene A. Wright
4 comments:
I think trademarks are important to help consumers identify a product with it's maker. The name can also be a part of the identity of the product. While I think it is important that companies not use others names as a way to mislead consumers I don't know that I would worry about a name becoming generic in the public. Most often that would be a result of the product becoming very successful over all other brands.
I think trademarks should be a part of the innovation process when it becomes more clear about how the product will and the benefit it provides. Of course with new products the environment it gets introduced in may change and so the name should be available to change until launch.
The common use of trademarked names also varies from country to country. “Saran Wrap” in the US is called “Cling Film” in the UK. Both of these are trademarked names, but they are only known in certain regions.
Even if a trademark becomes a common name for an item in one region it probably won’t be that way on a global basis. I would say that in a lot of cases it is better to let the idea get out there than to try and protect the trademark.
Trademarks are generally a good idea. From the article, I understand that trademarks words in the dictionary are more difficult to hold to their trademark than ones that are created for example Google, jet blue, etc…It is essential to have brand names trademarked. So customer would not get confused which brand is generic or real. This will also helps customer to have brand loyalty based on the quality of their products.
Trademarks are generally a good idea. From the article, I understand that trademarks words in the dictionary are more difficult to hold to their trademark than ones that are created for example Google, jet blue, etc…It is essential to have brand names trademarked. So customer wouldn't be confused which brand is generic or real. This will also helps customer to have brand loyalty based on the quality of their products.
Post a Comment