Is trademark monitoring only for big companies?

It may seem that trademark monitoring is only for large corporations that have a) a lot at stake and b) have the resources to monitor the whole web for copycats and counterfeits. However, trademark monitoring can be beneficial to small companies as well.

Firstly, it's not true that only big organisations face infringement - small companies often fall victim to it because the perpetrator counts on them not having enough legal resources at their disposal. Trademark monitoring can uncover brand infringement in its early stages and protect a company's good name and bottom line, so it's definitely worth considering, regardless of company size.

Secondly, in terms of time and resources available to monitor and then fight infringement, trademark monitoring can take a form that is definitely possible for small companies to execute. Here are a few tips on how small businesses can start to monitor their trademark:

• Geographic compromises: A smaller company may choose to monitor only their most important market(s).
• Scope: A large corporation may monitor multiple online channels - social media, web domains, online marketplaces, images used anywhere on the internet, etc. A smaller company can again select their most important channel(s) - the one(s) where they believe potential infringement could hurt them the most. For example, for an e-shop, the biggest threat might be someone copying their website and hosting it on a similar domain. It's possible to find less complex solutions that only include channels that the business needs and can realistically cover.
• Time involvement: Monitoring selected channels manually can be time-consuming. If you sign up for a trademark monitoring solution, you'll regularly receive reports to your email instead. You can then look into the results, decide whether you want to address the issue and then take the next steps. This makes trademark monitoring manageable even by small teams.
• Enforcement options: If you don't have a team of lawyers at your disposal, it may seem that monitoring is not worth it because even if you uncover infringement, what can you do? However, there might be steps you can take. For example, if you uncover infringement on social media, you can report it and enclose your trademark number, all without any lawyer involvement. It's also worth noting that some trademark monitoring solutions also include takedown options. When researching providers, look into what they can do for you beyond monitoring reports.

In summary, the benefits of trademark monitoring might easily outweigh its cost, and we would encourage even small businesses to look into what's on the market and whether they can set up a monitoring habit that would be manageable - both in terms of price and time investment.