The people at NASA have our deep respect. They are extremely intelligent, truly dedicated and possess a remarkable vision for the future.

Consider some of the milestones our space program can claim:

• Launched the first U.S. satellite
• Put the first American in space
• Landed the first humans on the moon
• Created reusable spacecrafts with the Space Shuttles
• Captured astonishing images with the Hubble Space Telescope
• Facilitated collaboration and exploration with the International Space Station

Even when things are bleak, NASA finds a solution. The “successful failure” of Apollo 13 defined crisis management for generations to come.

Which leads us to an almost unfathomable fact: NASA never trademarked their logo.

How can that be? The NASA logo is one of the most iconic brands in the galaxy, but now almost anyone can sell it on a t-shirt.

Admittedly, the geniuses at the Kennedy Space Center and other facilities had many other things on their minds, but to put it bluntly, somebody spaced out.

Back down to Earth

Here’s a pointed consideration: How safe are your brands, products or services? Do they have registered trademarks to protect your intellectual property?

The type of trademark omission NASA made is far more common than you might think. Large and small B2B brands fail to secure the proper legal protection and come to regret it later.

There are several reasons for neglecting the trademark.

“Wait and see attitude”

B2B companies launch a product and wait to see if it is successful before trademarking the name. However, by the time they realize it’s a winner, someone else has grabbed the name—quite possibly, a competitor.  

“Not worth the investment”

There is a common misperception that trademarking will be more expensive than the entire marketing budget. In fact, the typical cost to trademark a name or logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ranges from $225 to $850 per class of goods or services, plus potential legal fees.

“Don’t have the time”

If it’s a new product or brand launch, B2B companies want to get into the market quickly. Trademarking isn’t instant, it requires a careful legal search for potential conflicts. That can be time-consuming, but it’s worth the effort. Once the company owns the name, the brand is ready to generate singular equity.

Protect your brand

Over the past 20-plus years, Boomm has become a go-to agency for naming. Clients from many industries come to us for original brand names, product launches, program titles, selling structure designations and even event names.

One of the first hard lessons of naming something is that most of the good options are taken. This is particularly true in markets like software and industrial products.

Despite that, the Boomm Team somehow manages to persevere and find fresh relevant options. When we do, the first advice we share with the client is “trademark it, please.”

If they hesitate, we have three strong reasons to get a registered trademark:

1. Legal protection: You can stop others from using your brand name, logo, or other identifying marks without your permission.
2. Exclusive rights: Only you can use the trademark in connection with the goods or services for which it’s registered.
3. Stop infringement: If someone infringes on your trademark, you have legal grounds to prevent further infringement.

As you can see, it’s clearly worth the time, effort and slight investment to trademark an original name and own your brand equity. Take it from NASA: it’s not rocket science.