The intention behind trademark law is to shield customers from becoming perplexed in their purchasing decisions. When a customer, for instance, goes into a store hoping for the newest Apple computer and discovers one that is tagged with that name but built by another business, they may feel let down or angry when they find out the reality about the situation. Customers won’t have to deal with issues of this nature if you take the time to get your trademark—a word or phrase that distinguishes your company and the products it sells—registered. This will help protect your business from unfair competition.
Investigate the nature of trademarks and the processes involved in their use.
If you wish to file a trademark for a common word or phrase, you will first need to gain an understanding of how trademarks function in general.
A trademark can be a term, phrase, logo, or design that consumers can use to identify the origin of the goods and services they purchase. The goal of trademark law is to protect consumers from becoming confused about who creates a product or provides a service by restricting others from using identical marks on similar products or services. This protects consumers from being confused about who made or provided the product or service. Labels, packaging, and promotional materials can be protected with US trademark registration as long as they do not clash with any other registered marks or generic phrases that are already linked with your products and services (e.g., “coffee”). In most situations, it is recommended to avoid using these types of marks unless there is already significant recognition for them among consumers—for instance, “Google” has become so well recognised as representing Google Inc.’s search engine that it is now regarded generic (and thus unprotectable).
Before using your mark, check to see whether it has been taken by another business by conducting a USPTO trademark search.
You are going to need to carry out a trademark search before you can file trademark application to the USPTO for a trademark. This will verify that your mark is not identical to or so similar to that of another party’s trademark that it would cause confusion in the marketplace. In addition to this, you need to check to see if the mark can be located in the database of registered marks maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
You are able to accomplish this by going to their website located at uspto.gov/trademarks/tmsearch/. When you get there, click on the link that says “Search for a Mark,” and once that’s done, input all of the terms that you’re looking for into the relevant fields:
The Word(s) You Wanted to See: Simply type in the terms that you wish it to include from the list below (for example, “superhero”).
Type of Mark: Determine if this word should be used as a component of another product (for example, superhero comic books), or whether it should be treated as its own independent entity (e.g., The Superheroes).
Class: Select the category under which this product falls. This information comes from UPC codes used by manufacturers that identify categories such as toys, furniture, and textiles. It’s important because each category has its own unique requirements depending on what kind of goods are being sold under this label; so keep reading below!
Give the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) a copy of your trademark application.
Following the completion of the necessary preparatory work, it is time to submit an application for a trademark. This requires filling out a US trademark application form, submitting it together with the requisite fee, and then waiting for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to decide whether or not your application will be accepted. You should get in touch with them personally if you haven’t heard from them within six months and there’s no reason why they should be delaying your application (such as an error in the paperwork), such as if there was an oversight in the application itself.
During this time, you will be required to work with a designated trademark examiner, who will review all applications for compliance with certain criteria before recommending approval or denial of any given application based on their own judgement. During this time, you will be required to work with a designated trademark examiner. You can also appeal any decision made by a trademark examiner if he or she rejects your application, but this is generally not necessary if the examiner has conducted his or her duties fairly and accurately according to the regulations set forth by law; however, appealing such decisions may be necessary if he or she has committed procedural errors (for example, failing to respond in a timely manner) that led him or her astray from following protocol properly.
Within the allotted amount of time, respond to any Office Actions that have been issued by the USPTO.
Responding in a timely manner to any Office Actions that have been issued by the USPTO is an additional key stage in the process of registering a trademark. If you do not react within the specified time period, your application will be considered abandoned, and you will be required to submit a new one. This could end up being quite expensive for you, so make sure that you answer to all Office Actions within the allotted time frame of two months after receiving them!
In the end, it is essential to keep in mind that trademark registration is a significant asset for your company and should be protected as such. They let you to protect your brand, prevent others from unlawfully exploiting your mark, and even develop goodwill over time as customers identify a term or phrase with your products or services. At first, the process of obtaining a trademark may appear to be overwhelming; but, if you do your homework and come prepared, you may begin the ball rolling on the process of protecting your own mark right away.
