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federal trademark Tagged Articles
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Trademark Monitoring
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| After you've had your trademark application filed, it's absolutely necessary that you monitor your trademark in some way. The USPTO does conduct a search of their own files so if someone does file for a Federal trademark after your registration it typically is rejected. However, relying on the USPTO to protect your trademark is a mistake for several reasons. |
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Trademark a Name and Logo: Together or Separate?
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| Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry.
Now when it comes to filing, a big question is should the name and logo be filed together or separately? |
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Why Trademark?
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| If you own a business, you spend a significant amount of time and effort building it up to be successful. You need to protect it the same way that you protect anything else that is valuable to you. What is the best way to do that? With Trademarks.
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Copyrights vs. Trademarks
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| Copyrights can be obtained for things of an artistic nature. Copyrights can also be obtained for advertising copy, games, software programs and blueprints, to name just a few. Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. |
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Likelihood of Confusion: The SAM Rule
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| When filing for a Federal trademark, it's important to keep the SAM rule in mind.
Who's SAM?
SAM's not a person but a concept employed by the USPTO during their review process of new Federal trademark applications. |
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Specimens Not Just for Guys in White Coats Anymore
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| Okay, let's assume that you're at the trademark stage: you've had comprehensive research conducted; the analysis on the research has been done; and (yay!) your name is clear. Now the next step is filing for the Federal trademark. |
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Hut 8, Hut 9, Hut 15!
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| I haven't a clue if I used the correct football reference but let's go with it because it fits with the subject of this article.
I've devoted a couple of articles about the various application forms it takes to get your trademark registered but what about when it is registered? |
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How to Register a Trademark
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| So, you finally settled on the perfect name for your product or service – it describes the business without being overly descriptive, it tells your customers exactly what you want them to know and it's catchy. That's fantastic! Finding just the right name is vitally important to the success of any product line or service. |
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Other federal trademark Related Articles
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How Do You Get a Trademark?
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| While some individuals choose to hire attorneys to walk them through the process of applying for a trademark, others choose to use a trademark research firm, which can cost thousands of dollars less. It is important to remember when hiring someone to do your research that they not only search through Federal and State trademark records for name similarities, but also Common-Law listings. |
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Do You Need a Registered Trademark?
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| It's less of a need than a want. Registering a trademark is NOT mandatory. However, are you a business owner, or do you work with a business that does not currently have a trademark registered or pending with the USPTO? If this last statement in any way describes you, then YES, you may benefit from having a trademark. |
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Federal Trademark Application Timeline, In Use Application
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| A detailed timeline for a Federal trademark application for those applicants that are currently using the mark in at least 2 states or between the US & another country. |
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Federal Trademark Application Timeline, Intent to Use Application
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| A detailed timeline for a Federal trademark application for those applicants that are not currently using their marks. |
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What You Don't Want to See
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| Definitions of statuses you don't want to see from the USPTO about your Federal trademark application. |
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Specimens Not Just for Guys in White Coats Anymore
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| Okay, let's assume that you're at the trademark stage: you've had comprehensive research conducted; the analysis on the research has been done; and (yay!) your name is clear. Now the next step is filing for the Federal trademark. |
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Likelihood of Confusion: The SAM Rule
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| When filing for a Federal trademark, it's important to keep the SAM rule in mind.
Who's SAM?
SAM's not a person but a concept employed by the USPTO during their review process of new Federal trademark applications. |
|
|
Trademark Monitoring
| |
| After you've had your trademark application filed, it's absolutely necessary that you monitor your trademark in some way. The USPTO does conduct a search of their own files so if someone does file for a Federal trademark after your registration it typically is rejected. However, relying on the USPTO to protect your trademark is a mistake for several reasons. |
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Descriptive Trademarks
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| The title here is a bit misleading as descriptive words are not typically allowed to be registered on the USPTO’s trademark Principal Register. Let’s back up a little...
One of the main points (some would argue THE main point) of having a Federal trademark is to have exclusive rights to a name, a logo or a slogan within your industry. Given that, words that “merely describe” the goods or services are not going to be allowed. |
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Why Register a Canadian Trademark? Trademarks Defined and Explained
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| Registration of a trademark is proof of ownership and therefore a key way of protecting a trademark from misuse and imitation. Registration is not obligatory but is recommended because it is a way of verifying the exclusive right that is established through using the trademark in relation to specific products or services. It is important to realize that, while registration affords the greatest possible legal protection against infringement or misuse of a trademark, it is, and can never be, a failsafe guarantee against all problems relating to trademark usage. |
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