By submitting a trademark application, you may safeguard the name and reputation of your company.
A company's brands may be registered as trademarks for current or upcoming commercial use.
Use the Trademark Electronic Search System of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to make sure your idea is unique and hasn't already been trademarked before you try to register anything.
Patents deal with inventions, whereas trademarks deal with words, phrases, logos, or drawings. This is the primary distinction between patents and trademarks.
The goal of this essay is to educate business owners on the trademark application process.
Now that you've chosen a legal framework for your fledgling company, what comes next? The next stage is legal trademark protection to make sure it stays a distinctive component of your company's public image.
Your firm's identity is embodied in your brand, so protecting it with a trademark is essential to preventing unauthorized use of your company name or branding.
You must submit an application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in order to obtain a trademark (USPTO).
Nevertheless, this does not guarantee that your trademark will be accepted. There are regulations to follow, and an application fee is needed. The details provided below can help you and your company during the trademark application procedure.
Eligibility for a Trademark
You can trademark a brand for present-day or foreseeable future commercial use. However, a number of considerations, such as whether the name is distinctive, will determine if your application is accepted. The following are additional considerations to bear in mind:
The name of the brand must appear on the product's packaging if you intend to sell goods under it.
The trademark must be visible on all marketing and promotional materials if your brand provides services.
You must provide the date when you first started using the name or mark if you have already started using it in a business context.
You must specify on your application if you intend to use the name or mark in the future.
If your company's identity expresses anything distinctive about your brand, such as your dedication to eco-friendly commerce, it is very crucial to trademark it. It's crucial to know whether your brand is actually eligible for a trademark before proceeding, though.
You don't want to waste time and money trying to register a concept that isn't allowed because the trademark process is time-consuming and expensive.
Before starting the project, review the USPTO guidelines and take into account the aforementioned elements to determine whether your application is likely to be accepted.
Another thing to bear in mind is that if you run a firm as a sole owner, you must first register a DBA name in order to submit a trademark application. Since sole owners are required by law to use their given names as their business names, they have the freedom to choose another name under which to do business publicly. Then you can apply for a trademark using that other name.
Carrying out a trademark search
It is useless to attempt to trademark a name, symbol, or phrase that has already been done so by another party. Fortunately, the Trademark Electronic Search System, a database of trademarked phrases, is maintained by the USPTO (TESS). You can check the status of pending applications in TESS to discover if another company is attempting to submit an application before you to get an advantage.
Checking this system is a wonderful way to potentially prevent a rejection based on the "likely of confusion" — that is, your application is denied because your proposed trademark is too similar to another and will lead to confusion in the marketplace.
What if the trademark you want is a design rather than words? You can utilize TESS to carry out a design mark search if your trademark uses an illustration rather than just a name and you want to register it.
However, you must first obtain the relevant design code(s), which are listed in the Design Search Code Manual of the USPTO.
The catch: Your application could still be rejected even if your trademark search turns up no matches. The USPTO does not register every trademark, thus it is not a 100% reliable safety net.
Making a trademark registration application
The enjoyable part now is applying formally for your trademark license through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). It's easy to complete the application online, but make sure your information is correct and comprehensive, or you risk losing the filing fee. You don't want to be turned down on the basis of a technicality and lose the $250 to $500 application fee. By using a credit card, an electronic funds transfer, or an existing USPTO deposit account, you can pay the cost online.
Your form will be sent immediately to the USPTO after submission. Be advised that everything on your application—including your address—will be treated as public record, save for your payment details.
Worldwide trademarks
Keep in mind that registered trademarks are often only legal in the United States if your organization has any overseas operations. However, if you have already submitted an application for a trademark in the US, the Madrid Protocol may allow you to also submit an application for an international trademark.
You must submit an application to the World Intellectual Property Organization's international bureau in order to do this (WIPO). Your overseas application can be filed with the help of the USPTO, and the application will go via the USPTO before being sent to the WIPO.
Patents versus trademarks
Make sure you are aware of the distinctions between a trademark and a patent so that you can decide which is best for your company. Your business could occasionally require both.
Words, symbols, phrases, or graphics that assist in identifying and separating a brand or business from its rivals are referred to as trademarks. A service mark, which is a term, symbol, phrase, or design that enables consumers to separate and identify the source of a good from the goods themselves, is comparable to a trademark.
Furthermore, both trademarks and service marks are frequently referred to as "trademarks" in the same sentence. Every ten years, granted trademarks must be renewed.
A patent is a type of property right that protects an inventor's rights to an invention. The USPTO is the only agency that issues patents in exchange for the right to make a new invention known to the public. Manufactured items, tools, industrial processes, and chemical compositions are all things that can be patented.
The kind of invention determines how long a patent is valid. If they were submitted after May 13, 2015, design patents are only valid for 15 years, while utility and plant patents are only valid for 20.
Why file a trademark application?
A trademark helps businesses identify their products from others' and keep the clients and earnings they have worked so hard to gain by preventing potential rivals from copying or too closely replicating your brand.
Additionally, registering a trademark gives you more legal protections than running a firm without one. A trademark registration certificate might be essential proof if your firm is ever sued over its brand or if you want to make a claim against another company.
