To be ready to get your Trademark, you should have three things:
* If you are not ready, don’t worry, you are still in the right place, click here to go to the trademark page.
If you have everything ready, let's get to work.
Your mark should be as strong as possible, using simple lettering and typography. First, don’t use ornate or fancy fonts; they are harder to read. Second, avoid shades, outlines, or other visual elements that another party could interpret as indicating fair usage.
Among the main criteria for trademark registration is the mark currently in use. If a mark you want to register is also in use as a trade name or service mark (for example, under a fictitious name), you need to supply specimens showing the exact wording of your desired mark as it appears on advertising or labeling. Because marks used for services must be registered with the USPTO, the services you offer should be registered in association with your trademark.
You need to make sure the mark is not currently in use. You can check with the USPTO trademark database for free or use an attorney that will complete a much deeper search. Normally, you’ll find out if there are any conflicts with this search. You can also do a quick Google search to see what’s out there already. Suppose you have already started marketing your products or services under the proposed trademark. Someone gets mad at you and tries to stop you from using it. In that case, you may have to change names.
After your trademark application, the first thing that happens is the Trademark Office checks for any possible conflict. The application gets looked at from every angle. Possible problems with your claim of ownership. Prior conflicting uses of similar trademarks. A third looks more generally to verify that you are prepared, to publish all real and imaginary prior art related to your trademark.
Being published means that you will give up all rights in any other name that might be confusingly similar in the future. Not only to your commercial products and services, but also to things as widely disparate as other trademarks, literary works, and philosophical concepts. Your publication becomes part of the public record.
It legally establishes a right every bit as filing a written copy with the Trademark Office.
Soon, you’ll receive what’s called an “office action” in the mail. This letter will either grant your request or say why the trademark office will not grant your request. If there are a few things you need to fix, you’ll get a chance to fix them in response. But if the Trademark Office says no, they may not tell you why. It’s your burden to prove that your mark is appropriate.
The USPTO will likely be reject the mark if it is not an arbitrary or fanciful mark. You can’t get to arbitrary or fanciful just by adding words to a description of the goods or services you are offering. Adding words does not, for example, entitle you to register “Furniture Store” or “Real Estate Firm.”
Tell the trademark examiner if you are trying to protect a name to sell products with it. Tell them that if you are trying to protect it as a brand rather than a product. If you’re just trying to stop a competitor from getting it, tell them that too. It’s important to remember that there is no way for a trademark examiner to read your mind.
Why do I need a lawyer for
A Trademark?
How can I tell what
Type of Patent?
How can I make
A Prototype?
Do I need a trademark or
Copyright?
Do I need an LLC
To Sell Online?
The Intellectual Property Attorney you hire to represent you and your business is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
These are the values that guide this firm:
Having a lawyer is often the difference between success and failure. A good intellectual property lawyer is priceless. Without one, you’re basically out in the cold on your own. I have seen so much go wrong for clients’ businesses and even personal finances apart from the company.
– Jerry K Joseph Esq. Founding Attorney
Inventors, entrepreneurs, and creatives face unique problems. Most people never think about the headaches and frustrations in Intellectual Property law; those frustrations can be overwhelming. Many people give up before they ever start. I started this firm to fix that.
We use a flat-fee billing policy so that clients feel confident knowing that they will not be surprised by unexpected expenses. I demand that each client be provided with a level of care as if it were my patent application. I will even turn inventors away from filing patent applications if their ideas are not ready to be filed.
My firm and I dedicate ourselves to providing real-world, honest advice to help inventors. Our goal is to protect and prototype their ideas in the most cost-effective way possible.
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