When it comes to IP protection, patents protect inventions, trademarks protect brand names, and copyrights protect a wide range of original creative output, including literary, musical, dramatic, and artistic works, among others.

Entrepreneurs need to think about IP from the very beginning. Even in the planning phase, you must stay conscious of any IP you create. For example, budding entrepreneurs often wait too long to legally secure one of the most critical pieces of IP, their company name.

When considering a name, check to see if any business similar to yours has already secured the name. Using the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) electronic search system, you can do this. If the name is available for your use and registration, you don’t have to register it immediately; however, you should add the ™ symbol each time you use it in business.

You establish “common law” rights to the name based solely on your trademark use, even without registration. Then, once you think the business has a good chance of succeeding, you’ll want to officially register the name with the USPTO and start using the ® symbol alongside it instead of the ™. Formally registering the name provides many advantages, such as being able to sue for monetary damages against other companies for trademark infringement.

However, if you use a name that’s already trademarked, the potential financial penalties of an infringement suit are only a fraction of the damage that can result. Think about all of the money that would be wasted on replacing signage and printing. And those costs are nothing compared to the price you’ll pay to rebrand totally. Beyond tangible costs, it’s also likely that your business’s reputation will face serious harm, which can be incredibly difficult to recover from.