Trade marks, or in other words brands, can be used to protect one’s business with great effect. In the age that we live in consumers are drawn to familiar brand names and the decision to purchase a product is often a result of the branding that it carries. In fact the value of many businesses is directly related to the value of their trade marks. According to Forbes, the well known Apple brand is worth more than US $241 billion, making it the most valuable trade mark in the world. The Google brand came in second at US $208 billion and the Microsoft brand third at US $163 billion. The top 20 are as follows:
- Apple
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Coca-Cola
- Disney
- Samsung
- Louis Vuitton
- McDonald’s
- Toyota
- Intel
- Nike
- AT&T
- Cisco
- Oracle
- Verizon
- Visa
- Walmart
- GE