By Christina Newberry
When Garry Tynan started his stamped-concrete garden edging company 12 years ago, he almost named it Tynan Curbing.
“That would have been the worst mistake I could have made,” Tynan says now.
Fortunately, before beginning the work of establishing his reputation and brand, Tynan realized that his business name should represent what he offered to customers. Since his business is to “make curbing easy,” he settled on – what else? – Curb-Ease. Then, as soon as the name rolled off his tongue, Tynan realized he needed to protect it.
According to Tanya Reitzel, owner of Coastal Trademark Services (
www.trademarkable.com) and a registered trademark agent with over 10 years’ experience in the industry, creating and protecting a name and brand like Curb-Ease is critical for any small business that has ambitions to grow – and registering the trademark is critical to ensuring the value of the name and brand.
It is essential that franchisors register their marks before selling any franchises, Reitzel stresses. “Registration provides franchisors with the ability to say, ‘We have developed a reputation around this mark, we own this mark, and our competitors cannot use a mark that would be similar.’ ”
This provides franchisees with much-needed assurance that what they are buying into has value, Reitzel says. As a result the franchise will be worth more.
“Obtaining a trademark registration provides owners with protection of their brand across Canada, regardless of where it is being used. This national protection is not provided to owners of non-registered marks. So, even if your brand is well-established in, for example, Vancouver, a company in Ontario could use the same mark for the same products. It could register the trademark and perhaps force you to stop using the trademark you created – or at least prevent you from expanding use of your trademark into other parts of Canada.”
This would be devastating to someone wishing to expand their business and franchise. A company could have built a solid reputation in a community, only to lose all sense of consumer recognition and brand loyalty.
“Brand loyalty is the reason people will pay more for Heinz ketchup than Safeway-brand ketchup,” Reitzel says. “Your trademark distinguishes your product and/or service in the marketplace.”
A distinctive brand is one of the reasons Curb-Ease is now the largest curbing company in Canada. With a national warranty, uniforms, insurance, and specialized equipment, Tynan says they’ve “legitimized the industry,” something they could not have done without the protection of trademarks.
Tynan worked with the staff at Coastal Trademarks to register the trademark Curb-Ease in Canada and the United States 12 years ago. Once he had a logo in place, he trademarked that, too, ensuring he would “own the look.” Later, Coastal helped Tynan secure trademarks for additional brands, a supply line, and even machinery.
That was all before he even considered making Curb-Ease a franchise opportunity. The idea to franchise emerged five years ago, when Tynan was selling his curbing equipment. He’d sell a piece of machinery to a client and train that client’s crew, but within a year, they would be out of business. Tynan realized his own business was thriving, not just because of the quality curbing work he delivered, but because he had developed the systems and processes he needed to grow quickly – and because of his brand. So, ready to take Curb-Ease from a single curbing company to a franchise opportunity, Tynan returned to Coastal yet again.
“When someone buys a franchise, a lot of the value for them is in the brand,” Tynan says. “But if your name isn’t protected, someone can stop you from using your own name.”
Reitzel adds, “A trademark has real value, since it signifies an exclusive right to use the name.”
While many small-business people may perceive the process of securing a trademark as daunting and expensive, Tynan points out that “on a cold, white sheet of paper, it makes sense. That’s why I have a whole wall full of marks!”
Most small businesses looking to secure a trademark would likely start by calling a lawyer. But they might be interested in knowing that trademark agencies like Coastal focus only on trademarks. And, because trademarks are all they do, these agencies are extremely knowledgeable about the ins and outs of trademark registration and maintenance.
Also, not having a large overhead, as many law firms do, these agencies are typically able to secure trademark rights for their clients at a lower fee. The entire process of securing a Canadian trademark through Coastal Trademarks generally costs about $1,800 to $2,200. Once a trademark is in place, it’s valid for 15 years, and can be renewed indefinitely every 15 years from then on.
Any business thinking about franchising – or just about protecting its brand and reputation – should start thinking about trademarking early. Taking a year-and-a-half to complete, the process starts with a search to see if the mark is available, and continues through various stages of filing and evaluation by the Canadian Trademark Office.
No question: it’s best to trademark early, rather than start building a brand on a name that could end up being taken away.
“With growth comes notoriety,” Reitzel says. “And that means, people wanting to borrow your reputation. Before you get big, you should protect your rights for when you become big.”
Tynan’s “wall full of marks” is serving him well. Curb-Ease now has 20 franchisees across the country and plans to expand into the United States market within the next year. Since all the Curb-Ease brand and product names and logos are already trademarked in the US, American franchisees can be confident that the brand is as solid south of the border as it is in Canada. With plans to expand into the international market soon, Tynan will be calling on Coastal again, to secure his trademarks worldwide.