2021-07-20
Creating an online presence for your company or product can dramatically increase your sphere of influence and can be a boon to your business if done correctly. Unfortunately, poorly managed online presences can also create issues for a company.
One way to put yourself or your brand out there is through social media marketing. There are plenty of platforms to use to promote yourself and your business. Ensuring that you understand how they work, the rules they have set, and mechanisms to report improper use of your intellectual property are all important when setting up your profiles. Having a plan for how to respond to online complaints and trolls, what kind of information you post, issues you steer away from and other matters specific to your business and products is important. If you have other people assisting with social media posts, ensure that they understand your plan and follow it.
While there can be challenges associated with obtaining trademark registrations worldwide, strategically filing your trademarks in specific countries can help you create a wall of protections against third party use online. Keep reading below to find out the individual policies that protect you on different social media platforms.
Twitter has a large number of online users who turn to it when they want to consume various kinds of information revolving around politics, entertainment, and business. Companies use it for marketing purposes to help them reach the right audience by simply limiting a post to 280 characters and four photos or a video.
According to Twitter’s trademark policy, if anyone uses your trademark without your permission or does it to harm you directly, it could be considered a violation. You can easily report the person involved through the website’s support form and wait for Twitter to take action. Action against a violator could include suspending the user’s account or giving them a chance to remove what they did before the suspension.
You can find plenty of businesses promoting their products or services on Facebook due to the massive marketing opportunities you can find on the platform. When it comes to the website’s trademark infringement policies, if someone is using your trademark without your permission as a way to divert a user’s attention, you can report the act accordingly.
You will have to fill out Facebook’s online form or reach them through email to report the infringement violation to get the company to delete the unwanted content. They may also reach out to the user in charge of the breach and provide your contact information and details of your report to inform them about what they did wrong.
LinkedIn is a platform for working professionals, including business owners, recruiters, job seekers, and anyone else interested in a wide array of career opportunities. Thanks to the channel, brands have more chances of luring users to their websites after coming from the social platform.
Based on LinkedIn’s conditions on trademark infringements, they take reports seriously and look into violations to give people the justice they seek online. If someone is using your trademark for unlawful purposes, you can fill out their form and wait to hear from them.
Pinterest is a platform that anyone can use to create mood boards. It’s where you go online to look for inspiration and creative ideas about anything under the sun, from photoshoot pegs to passion projects and interests.
Another great thing about the social media channel is the pins can direct users to business websites to help boost traffic, gain more customers, and acquire sales. With trademark infringement issues, once proven, Pinterest will take the necessary actions to update, transfer, or suspend the account involved in the act permanently.
Conclusion
Whether you use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Pinterest, to promote yourself or your business online, you can protect your trademark from people who intend to harm you in any way. If their goal is to impersonate you, confuse your customers, and cause trouble, you can report them for violating a social media platform’s policies. A lawyer may also be able to speed up the process to help protect your rights.
Are you looking for trademark registration services in Alberta, Canada? Get in touch with us today to speak with one of our trademark professionals.
