Why Trademarking Is Important for Your Video Game and Brand

If you want to establish yourself as a brand, you should consider trademarking. Trademarks influence customers' purchasing decisions, and registering yours will make consumers more likely to buy from you.

A recent study found that 71 percent of consumers are more likely to purchase products from brands they recognize, making trademarking one of the essential things you need to do to make your business successful.

Trademarking a brand may sound like a complicated legal issue, but it’s not. This article explains what trademarking is and why it’s an important asset for growing your business.

What is trademarking?

A trademark can be a name, symbol, logo, or slogan that serves to identify and distinguish your business or product from others in the market. Trademarking protects your brand image and ensures other companies don’t infringe on your intellectual property. After trademarking a business name, phrase, or logo, if someone tries to use something similar to confuse consumers, you have the power to protect yourself and stop that person/company.

Trademarking is also one of the compelling video game marketing strategies for setting your business apart from the competition. There are many similar video games on the market, and it'd be difficult for players to recognize you without a trademark. You could also lose rights to your idea, artwork, and the creative energy you have invested in making your game if you don't register a trademark.

While trademarking ensures other parties don't infringe on your ideas, its primary legal purpose is different from other intellectual properties. Patents and copyrights help brands lay claim to a product, but the main aim of a trademark is to protect the consumer by eliminating the chance of confusing one company or product with another.

Why trademark your brand?

Developers need a keen understanding of why trademarks are vital assets for growing their businesses. Here are the top five reasons why you need a trademark for your video game marketing.

1. To help your brand stand out

There’s no denying the fact that the online marketplace is very crowded. There are thousands of similar products from other vendors, making it difficult for consumers to differentiate your product from your competitors. With countless products added to the market every day, it’s not uncommon for similar or identical products to yours to be bought. So, how do you differentiate yourself in a crowded market? Through trademarking!

A trademark is an efficient communication tool for capturing user attention and making your brand and products stand out. Consumers who come across your trademark know immediately who they are dealing with and your brand’s reputation. They are less likely to look for other alternatives, helping you attract a lot of users for your products.

When you add new products under your brand name, you can easily capture your target users' attention since they associate these products with the trademark you've already established. As such, it becomes easy to sell the new products and make them stand out in the market.

2. To help build your reputation and authority

People tend to buy more from brands with well-established names. Customers feel more confident about the quality of the products they receive when they buy from a brand that’s registered and trademarked.

Registering for a trademark also shows that you take pride in your products. Players will only download your game when they are sure of its quality, and a trademark is one way to prove this. A trademark will also influence the development of other products in the future. It will make you more conscious of your products' quality since you will not want to destroy the positive reputation you've earned from registering a trademark for your business.

This will help you establish your authority as a trusted game developer in your niche. Players will eagerly await the release of your new titles, and this will positively impact your bottom line. Mobile game marketing is all about trust, and trademarking allows you to show your customers that you value and care about them. Despite the additional costs you'll incur from applying for a trademark, the benefits you stand to gain far outweigh these costs.

3. To gain exclusivity to your brand assets

Trademarks grant companies the security of their brand assets. Competitors cannot copy or steal your assets since they are intellectual property. This will help you prevent marketplace confusion that arises from having similar products on the market. Customers will know the source of the goods they've purchased, and you’ll be able to protect your brand from unfair business practices.

Other than securing your brand assets, trademarks also provide you with a long-term competitive advantage. Trademarks appreciate over time, providing value beyond your core business and paving the way for the expansion of your business if desired.

Kellogg’s expanded its offering from ready-to-eat cereals to breakfast and snack bars. Armani grew from a “runway apparel” brand to producing perfumes and eyewear. Virgin started with airline services as its main offering but expanded into entertainment media and carbonated drinks.

Figure 1: Kellogg's logo. Source: Kellogg's

These companies managed to grow because they had registered trademarks for their brands, which they leveraged to expand into other niches. Trademarks wrap a company's reputation, culture, and other emotional attributes in a single logo or brand name. Brands carry all these attributes with them when expanding into other areas, making it easy to attract clients and grow their business.

4. To protect yourself from copycats

Trademarking a logo or name isn’t mandatory according to the law. It’s just an added step for your business. But if you’re in a position to, take this added step as a precautionary measure to protect your business from copycats. Registering a trademark protects your business against others who might try to imitate your company assets.

Figure 2: Coca-Cola logo. Source: Coca-Cola

If another business tries to copy your name, logo, or slogan, you have legal recourse to stop this from happening. Imagine if Coca-Cola didn't trademark its name and logo, and another company copied it. This could have made its customers think that the copycat's product was the real thing, resulting in significant losses on the part of Coca-Cola.

Your business may be small right now but bear in mind that it will grow one day. When that time comes, it might be too late to think about registering for a trademark if another company has beaten you to it. You've worked so hard to grow your business, and it would be sad if it goes down because of a simple issue such as the lack of a trademark. Don’t let this happen. Get a trademark and secure your brand’s greatest assets.

5. To protect yourself against copyright infringement

Not having a trademark leaves a company open to lawsuits from businesses that registered under a similar name, design, or slogan. If this happens, you will be forced to make changes where you used that design, such as your campaign, website, and social media material.

In a way, you will be altering your brand identity since you will be changing the branding aspects that customers have come to recognize you by. Your customers will no longer be able to identify your brand, and you'll be forced to run a publicity campaign to make people aware of your new brand identity.

By the time you sort everything out, your competitors will have snatched your customers, and you'll have no one to sell to. We all know how expensive it is to acquire customers, so if you don't want to go through all this trouble, make sure you register your trademark.

So, when should you apply for a trademark?

ASAP!

A trademark acts as a catalyst for business growth. It enhances brand recognition and makes it easy to attract customers. Your business will grow, and you'll find yourself expanding into other areas, leveraging your reputation to attract and retain customers.

Without a trademark, you could lose everything you’ve worked for when other parties register your trademark in their name. So, start the registration process NOW! Don't wait till you have customers from all corners of the world to get one. By then, it could be too late. Once registered, a trademark is permanent. You only need to renew it periodically, which won't take up too much of your time.

Want to learn more about digital marketing?

Digital marketing is a vast industry, and you need a strong understanding to master it. That's why we've compiled all of our best resources to create the ultimate guide to digital marketing. Check it out here: Everything You Need to Know About Video Game Digital Marketing.

You want your business to stand out, so you should use your trademarked phrases, colors, and more in it. We've seen that customers are more likely to buy from well-established brands, and this makes trademarking one of the effective video game marketing strategies for growing your game.

The team at Game Marketing Genie can help you make the most of your brand assets to separate your video game from the countless others out there.

Are you struggling to differentiate your brand from others in the industry? Our marketing strategy will guide you on how to set your business apart from the rest.