New Fear Unlocked: Your Brand Gets So Popular It Isn’t Yours Anymore

We all dream of the moment when something we created starts showing up everywhere.

Your brand. Your words. Your concept. Suddenly it’s being talked about in rooms you’ve never even been in. That feels like winning — until it becomes the reason you can’t claim it as yours.

Growth moves fast. Protection needs to move faster.

When Popularity Becomes a Problem

Have you heard of Dirty Soda?

A popular drive-through soda shop, Swig, began selling what they called “dirty sodas” in Utah in the early 2010s — traditional sodas mixed with cream and flavored syrups. The concept took off. Other shops popped up. Drink trailers followed. Even major brands got in on the trend.

Here’s the problem: Swig waited years before trying to protect the term.

By the time they applied to register “Dirty Soda” as a trademark, the phrase had already become the name of a type of drink instead of something consumers associated specifically with their brand. It no longer pointed back to them. It described a category.

When Swig filed for registration in 2022, the USPTO refused it.

What started as their movement became something no one could own.

Could This Happen to You?

Unfortunately, yes.

We’ve all heard that imitation is the highest form of flattery. But when your brand gets copied at scale, there’s a real risk of losing control of it in a way that can’t be undone.

If you wait until something goes viral, you’re usually too late.

Once a name becomes widely used by others, it can shift from being a brand identifier to being a general term. At that point, legal protection becomes much harder — sometimes impossible.

So When Is the Right Time to Trademark?

You’ll often hear lawyers say you should file a trademark application a year before launch. In theory, that’s great advice.

In real life? Entrepreneurs move faster than that.

Here’s the business-first version:

If it would feel awful to see someone else using your name or idea, that’s your cue.

Don’t wait for it to go viral.
Don’t wait until you’ve poured money into it.
Don’t wait until it’s everywhere.

Because by then, it might not be yours to protect.

The right time to look at trademark protection is when your brand is gaining traction — not after you’ve invested heavily in branding, marketing, and momentum.

Protect What You’re Building While You Still Can

Trademarks aren’t about being overly cautious or slowing down growth. They’re about making sure the momentum you create actually belongs to you.

If you’re building something you’d be genuinely upset to lose, it’s time to gut-check it with a trademark lawyer before you invest any more into it.