2009 November « Brandrally

A good topic has arisen through our branding / corporate identity work here in Brisbane – which is the role of Copyright and Trademarks and what it means for business.

Copyright is automatically assigned to a piece of original work, be it intellectual, dramatic, musical, artistic and literature when it is produced in a tangible format. In essence, copyright © grants exclusive privilege to the creator and ensures that no reproduction can be made without permission or compensation to the creator.

Protecting one’s copyright is important. Equally important is the ‘tangible’ word of the above paragraph. An example of this played out earlier this year in the courts relating to Alex’s Lloyd’s use of the lyrics for the hit song ‘Amazing’. In which, Mark O’Keefe alleged that it was he himself who wrote the song on the back of beer-coasters in a pub in 1991. Mark then alleges that he himself handed the words to the song on the coasters over to Lloyd to finish the song. The tangible evidence was missing in this case, and as such there was no-way of proving ownership in favour of Mark.

The next role in protecting intellectual property falls into the category of Trademarks. When a product is first to market it must be an ™ Unregistered Trademark. Only once it is in use, can a trademark become a fully-fledged ® Registered Trademark.

Trademarks are defined either by a word, phrase or symbol used in commerce in conjunction with a product or service. They indicate the source of a product and prevent other people or businesses from a using a mark that could be confused with the original. An excellent example of a trademark is the Nike ‘Swoosh’, the phrases such “Just do it”, and the word itself. When I traveled overseas, I remember walking past a store that was selling ‘Mike’ tee-shirts, in the logo-type of Nike, with ‘Just did it’ and an upside-down swoosh. Definitely some serious Trademarking infringing happening in that instance, and fashion police should arrest the person who would have eventually bought that tee-shirt.

Trademarks do not however prevent others from creating the same product or service and promoting them under a new name. Where unique technology, design, or ideas are involved – Patents are created to protect this form of intellectual property.

For further information regarding Branding, Copyright and Trademarking, Contact Brandrally. Telephone: 1300 662 842.

Brandrally – 50 McLachlan St, Fortitude Valley 4006 Brisbane QLD AUSTRALIA

Think of a really successful business. A business that is just great, works well and looks good. Questions; can you draw /describe their logo? Sing their jingle? Or repeat their company tag line?

It is no surprise that you are able to perform the tasks above, because large corporations spend millions of dollars in advertising encouraging you to do so.

Creating a specific look and feel is important because it is the goal of business to be instantly recognizable and subsequently engrained in a consumer’s mind. A logo or name is in essence a business proposition: Buy me. Sell this. Believe. Disbelieve. Love. Hate.

In a glance, we can sense whether we support a company based purely on what we see. Good branding provides clear communication as to who a business is, what it represents, and its goals and outcomes.

This is all done so that we can feel that we are personally connected to a product or service as it endorses our personal beliefs and value systems. In essence a brand is the touch-point to which we connect with a product, service, location or idea.

Branding is an investment. What is put into the development, marketing and advertising of a brand will eventually be what will come out of it. A logo and name will resonate, embedded in the mind of a consumer so that Nike can ‘just do it’; more ‘two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, pickles, cheese, onion on a sesame seed bun’ will be eaten and; Valvoline – we will know what it means.

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Tips for selecting the right company to design your brand

Do they have good branding for themselves?
Do they ask what your business goals and desired outcomes are?

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Brandrally provides comprehensive design solutions by offering strategic graphic design, website design and Internet marketing services. Servicing clients in Brisbane, throughout Australia and internationally, we apply significant emphasis on design, strategy formulation and process and deliver successful outcomes for our clients, every time, on-time and in-budget. From Corporate Identity, through to full content managed websites, we provide professional solutions to suit your business needs.

For more information contact:
50 McLachlan St, Fortitude Valley 4006 Brisbane QLD AUSTRALIA
t 1300 662 842
f (07) 3036 6260
e design@brandrally.com.au
www.brandrally.com.au

Copyright and Trademarks in Business explained

A Good Brand = A Good Business