Trademarks vs Car insurance

There are three similarities and three differences between trademark registration and car insurance. Let's start with similarities first. Number one - you MUST do both even though you don't want to do either. 

So both are necessary "evils." You've got mandatory car insurance. You don't have mandatory trademarking for your business, but if you're serious about your business, it's just one of those things you must do.

Nobody ever woke up and said, "Hey! I'm so excited because today I will be buying my car insurance!" The same thing with trademarks. Nobody wakes up and says, "Hey! I'm so excited because today I'm going to go and file my trademark application." 

We're excited about trademarks because they represent our brand and the product and services we provide. 

They should be unique and memorable. However, the act of registering trademarks is not exciting - to brand owners, it's simply a necessary evil. There is definitely a similar attitude shared by people directed towards car insurance and trademarks. 

Trademarks Provide Protection

The second similarity is that both trademarks and car insurance protect you in case something bad happens. Car insurance is supposed to protect you if you have an accident, god forbid you kill someone, or damage someone's property. Your insurance policy is going to pay for that, it's going to protect you, it’s going to make sure that you have the money to replace your car, to pay the victim, whatever. 

It’s the same thing with trademarks. They're designed to help you in case somebody steals your brand. In case somebody tries to push you out of your own brand. In case you see that somebody is trying to pass off their products and services like yours.

So if you have a trademark registration, you can easily go after them and win. And it won't cost nearly as much as it would without your trademark registration.

If You Don’t Have Them, You’re in Trouble with Trademark Laws and Traffic Laws

The third similarity between car insurance and trademarks is that if something bad happens, and you don't have it, you are screwed. So with car insurance, yes it's mandatory but let's say you're not paying and you go out there and, I don't know, you cause a big collision, maybe somebody dies, and they come to you and say, "Well, okay, what's your insurance number?" And you say, "Uhh, you know what, I don't have it."

So this can easily bankrupt you and this could easily put an end to your life as you know it because this can cost a lot of money dealing with that stuff.

And that would be the first question everyone asks—do you have insurance? What is it? And if you don't have it, the usual reactions are disappointment and shock. The same thing with trademarks. Somebody steals your mark, and you're like, "You can't steal my mark, it's my brand!" 

Well, the first question they're going to ask is, "Well, do you have a trademark?" And if your answer is no, everyone will go, "Oh my god." Trademark laws will not rule in your favor by the way. It's such a facepalm moment, right?  

Because everyone expects you—that if you care about your brand–that you take the steps to protect your brand. And if you don't, then you got a problem.

Review of Similarities

So here are the similarities—you got to do both, both are a necessary evil, both protect you in case something bad happens, and also if something bad happens if you don't have it, you are screwed. So those are the similarities.

3 Differences Between Trademark Registration and Car Insurance

Trademarking is Cheaper and You Renew Less

There are also three differences. The first difference is that car insurance you got to renew every year. You got to pay for it every year. 

You can have a monthly plan, you can have a six-month plan, you can have...whatever. And the average cost of insurance again in North America ranges anywhere from $2,000, maybe $1,500, maybe $3,000 to $4,000 dollars a year depending on your experience, all of that stuff. And you have to pay every year. 

Pay and pay and pay and pay.

With trademarks, you do it once and only have to renew every ten years. And then to renew it, you pay just a couple a hundred dollars. So in fact, the cost of owning your trademark for your business is much much less than what you're paying for your car insurance.

 So that's a big difference.

A Trademark is an Asset, While Vehicle Insurance is a Liability

The second big difference is that, unlike car insurance, a trademark is an asset, an asset that you can sell or license. Often, a trademark is the most valuable asset of your business.

For example, the Nike brand, the swoosh, is worth about 47 billion dollars, when the entire valuation of the whole company is just 90 billion, so 47 of that is just the name and the logo. 

The Amazon brand is worth over 300 billion dollars. And so is Apple's. The brand is really the most valuable asset of the business. 

Your car insurance is just a liability. It's not an asset, it has no value to anybody but you. And trademarks, as I said, you can sell them you can license them, you can do very creative business with them. 

Trademarks can help you make money, and that's the biggest benefit of trademarks.

Trademarks Have The Ability to Grow in Value

And finally here's the third difference. Unlike car insurance, the value of your trademark grows the longer you use your brand. Because trademarks are not about just getting a monopoly or name, or an image. 

They're about protecting the goodwill you've built around your brand. That's why the Nike brand, the Amazon, the Apple, all of those big brands—that's why they're so valuable–because so many people know about them. So the longer you've been building that, the more money you've invested in promoting them, the more value your trademark is going to have. 

Well, your car, the more you drive it, it's less and less valuable to insure. So when you buy a new car, you're like, "Well okay, I want to make sure that I get the liability to pay somebody else. I also want to make sure that I protect my own investment so if I get hit, the insurance company pays." Or if it gets stolen. 

You know, you've been driving your car, and you've been driving and driving. And you know when you're car's 20 years old, you’re thinking, "Uh probably I shouldn't be paying my insurance in case somebody steals it, because at this point I don't really care anymore." So that's a big difference.

Review of Differences

The three differences—again, you pay car insurance every year and trademarks every ten years, and then renewals are very cheap. With car insurance, you're going to end up paying a lot more for the privilege of being able to drive your car, and with trademarks, you're building a really valuable asset, and you only pay a serious amount of money upfront. 

And then unlike car insurance, a trademark is an asset, car insurance is not an asset. 

And also unlike car insurance, the value of your trademark grows the longer you use your brand. That does not happen with car insurance.

Trademark Registration vs. Car Insurance, Compared and Contrasted

So there you have it. Three things in common and three things that are different between trademarks and car insurance. So if you're a startup or an entrepreneur, or a small business, and you want to get your trademarks done right, follow the link in the description of this video, and see how Trademark Factory can help you secure your brand.

Make sure you treat your brand seriously, you treat your business seriously, at least as seriously as you're treating your car insurance. Right? And until then, I will see you in the next video.