Choose your Brand wisely! The importance of vetting the mark that you choose as a Business or Product Name cannot be overstated. Working with a Trademark Attorney on Brand selection is critical. Through trademark research and consulting, we can help you find a trademark that is not only available, but that fits the essence of your product/business name and that meets your needs for the mark.

What is a Trademark?

A trademark is “generally a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.” – The United States Patent and Trademark Office, The Basic Facts About Trademarks, USPTO (2019).

What does it Mean to File a Trademark?

Filing your trademark in the US generally refers to registering your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Once your trademark has fully registered with the USPTO, you have federally superior rights to your trademark in the field of business that you use it in, for five years. After the fifth year of use, you have to do another filing to continue your rights in the mark.

Why file a trademark?

Registering your trademark with the USPTO grants federal rights, allowing you to prevent others from using your mark and you can sue for triple damages. Failing to register leaves you open to lawsuits over federal rights.

Trademark Research

Before you Choose Your New Brand, Business, or Product Name, you must ensure it is available!

Our trademark research process evaluates if others have claimed your mark or something similar. We review USPTO, state, and international filings, including exact and similar marks in relevant classes. We also consider unregistered use on social media, websites, and the internet. Receive a summary of research and a comprehensive legal evaluation for your trademark.

Trademark Filings

After clearing your trademark through Trademark Research, protect it to establish federal rights. Filing with the USPTO grants nationwide protection, preventing others from using your mark in the same or similar field. We offer individual state, US Federal (USPTO), and international trademark filings. Our comprehensive evaluation considers your exact mark, similar spellings, and relevant classes.

Protecting your brand, including business name, product names, logos, and slogans, is vital to safeguard your intellectual property and avoid rights loss.

USPTO Office Action Responses

What is an “Office Action”?

After filing your trademark with the USPTO, a Trademark Examiner will review it and may request clarifications or disclaimers. These communications are known as”Office Actions.” You have 6 months from the Office Action’s issuance to respond to the Examiner.

Simple office actions  include: re-wording a description, refiling in a different class, translating your mark, or filing a disclaimer.

Other Office Actions are much more complex. These include:

• Rejections of the trademark based on use of the same or a similar mark by a registrant in the same of similar field.
• Rejections based on the mark being generic or merely descriptive and therefore not unique enough to protect.

Making the most persuasive response to an Office Action possible is the best chance any applicant has from overcoming a denial.

Calling all Amazon Sellers! Did you know that you can join the Amazon Brand Registry to get access to enhanced brand protection and brand-building benefits not otherwise available. But there is a catch! You have to have your business and/or product name federally registered to qualify!

Take advantage of Amazon Brand Registry perks such as:

• Accurate Brand Representation
• Powerful Search and Report Tools
• Additional Pro-Active Brand Protection
• Brand Registry Support
• Brand Building Benefits including Enhanced Brand Content, Stores, Sponsored Brands and the Brand Dashboard. 

See more at https://brandservices.amazon.com/benefits

A Cease and Desist Letter is a letter, generally from a law firm representing a federally registered mark owner, telling a business owner to stop using their federally registered trademark. The letter tells the business owner to “Cease and Desist” use of the infringing mark or risk liability for three-times the profits earned under the infringing mark.Do you need to send a Cease and Desist letter? We can do that for you.

Did you receive a Cease and Desist letter? We can help review the situation and respond appropriately.

What is a copyright?

Copyright is a legal right afforded to authors in the US of “original works of authorship”that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. Technically, common law copyrights start upon creation of the work. However, filing the work with the U.S. Copyright Office creates federal rights to protect the mark in the U.S. and to keep others from using it.

Examples of copyrightable works include:

• Literary works
• Musical works, including any accompanying words
• Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• Sound recordings, which are works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds
• Architectural works

(coming soon)