Intellectual Property Law

"Protecting Your Brand on Twitter" Offers Straight-Forward Enforcement Strategy

By Michael Atkins

Today’s post from Dave Donoghue is a reprint of his article, “Protecting Your Brand on Twitter & Stopping Twitter Squatters.” It’s worth checking out.

I love his hook: “[I]f you are an executive or business owner that is reading this and thinking that you do not need to worry about Twitter, at least skim the article and then do a search for your company name on Twitter. You will likely change your mind.”

Dave offers brand owners a good plan of attack: (1) claim your trademark or trade name on Twitter yourself so others can’t misappropriate it; (2) investigate anyone misappropriating your mark or name; (3) get your mark or name back by complaining via Twitter to the misappropriator; and (4) if that doesn’t work, complain to Twitter and, if needed, file suit.

Dave concludes with good advice: “Businesses need to monitor Twitter just like they do other trademark use and media channels. And you must enforce your marks on Twitter just like you do in every other channel of commerce.”

Twitter’s (relatively) new and continues to grow. Brand owners should not be intimated by it and definitely should not ignore it.

Full post as published by Seattle Trademark Lawyer on January 21, 2010 (boomark / email).