Your name is the first, and potentially most important, asset that your business has. From Goodyear to Google, a good name, logo, and slogan will stick in the minds of customers, and help your business expand. Just imagine spending a year or more of your blood, sweat, tears, and dollars growing a business, developing a product, and growing your customer base, only to have the name that you built torn from your hands by a lawsuit. Even if you succeed in the ensuing litigation and reclaim your name, you will have spent tens of thousands of dollars, and months, if not years of time that you could have spent on your business instead. Don’t let this happen to you! A registered trademark grants you strong, federal rights in the trademark across all 50 states, and for as long as it is in force. This is 6 years for the initial application, with potentially unlimited 10-year renewals. In addition it creates a valuable piece of intellectual property that can be controlled, licensed, and sold apart from your goods and services themselves. This attracts investment and establishes your legitimacy as a business.