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.
Is it required that I register my trademark?
No, not at all. However, registering your trademark, specifically your Federal trademark, does provide you with several advantages:
The right to use the circle-R symbol as notice to the public about your Federal trademark
The exclusive rights to the name within your industry across the country
Establishing brand identity
But what if someone else already
...to the extensions such as .com , .net , .org , and .gov . They are also called top-level domains (TLDs). The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) classifies top-level domains in three types. They are country code top-level domains, generic ...
While the name may be unique and distinctive to you, there is a possibility that another party already has prior trademark or common-law rights to the name for your industry. Before you invest time, money and effort into your name, do some research. The first places to check are right at your fingertips the World Wide Web and they’re free!
Preliminary Search Sites:
The Trademarks section on the [http://www.uspto.gov]USPTO Web Site
Your Secretary of State to see if they have a searchable database of names. You can find a listing of all states [http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/research/a/Sec_of_state.htm]here
Major search engines put your product name in quotes to find exact matches; use
...or marketed in association with the mark. If generic words must be included, then it is vital that the first word of the mark be as distinctive as possible. Elias Borges is a patent and trademark lawyer and a registered ...
Yellow pages
However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what’s out there. Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so try them first. If the name appears to be available, then you can move on to getting comprehensive research done by a private company or an attorney.
Ok, so the name is clear; now what?
To register your trademark, you have 2 options file for a Federal or a State trademark. If you are only going to sell your product or services in 1 state, then a
...traffic off the search engines when people search for your site. Richard Chapo is with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - a law firm providing legal advice to California businesses. This article is for general education purposes and does not address every facet of ...
While anyone has the ability to go online to access these forms,it’s strongly recommended to hire a private company or an attorney for the preparation and/or filing of the trademark application.To ensure a successful filing, it’s best to leave it in the hands of those with experience.
You found the perfect name now, make sure it’s truly yours!
Shannon Moore
...of counterfeit or infringing merchandise; and For those companies that wish to expand internationally, the date of registration may be used as the priority date in other countries, if they are a member of an international treaty, such as the ...
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