Protect Your Brand

QKI Consulting, Owner

Being creative in today’s world means you are putting a piece of yourself in the public. Putting your brand out there is a vulnerable experience where you place trust in the people you’re sharing it with.

It’s absolutely crushing to discover when their creativity is taken for its likeness because we are not always told how to have that work protected. Getting a trademark for someone who has a painting series can seem unnecessary at first. 

Still, if the painting a creative makes become globally popular then they’re most likely to have their style mimicked for its likeness. Meaning, when you create quality pieces of work they can be preyed upon in four steps.

Having security in your brand’s image or creative ideas essentially enables you to create without fear of replication. Producing from a creative outlet can be difficult when you are constantly fearful of creating something that will be stolen. 

Understanding four ways to protect your brand is as simple as a search, and the desire to secure what you’re building for yourself.

1. Copyright 

If you are creating anything from an original idea you should Copyright it, first! This is as simple as paying a fee and filing paperwork. This all takes about an hour to complete and will become a major investment in yourself and your work.

Even though you may not be a fortune 500 company with millions of dollars your ideas and work should be protected with copyright. 

2.Trademark

This will protect the products of your brand’s creations from being re-used by other people. Much like you see in movies where a recording artist will send their music to a big producer to hear their own song played by a completely different group of people. This can easily happen to you today. 

The way the internet works today can make a graphic design piece turn into a screenshot over and over again without you ever seeing any benefits from its popularity. 

The last two tips for brand protection are: 

3. Buy your domain 

When you create a brand website, even a portfolio website, it’s so important you buy your actual name. It’s professional and an absolute must in 2021. Buying your domain can be simple and cheap if you use websites like GoDaddy.

4. Maintain it 

Once you secure this, monitor it! Keep tabs on when your domain is up for grabs so you never lose it.

Brand protection is essential for longevity. If you’re not interested in making sure your brand is secured, why start it? The short amount of time you invest in securing your brand will ensure that you keep what you have worked hard to create. If you don’t work hard for your brand’s security, there will be another company that will try to secure your brand.