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Written by : Mui Ogbonnaya |
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can you get a trademark if someone else is already using your name the answer is maybe just maybe it depends upon a few things let's talk about them first if someone else is already using your name but they don't have a registered trademark then you just might be in luck so let's say that you've been operating I don't know Sam sandwich shop and is another Sam sandwich shop in some other part of the country or the world that's been using their name longer than you if they didn't file for trademark protection first you can still race them to the trademark office file your application and possibly get your trademark rights first so just because someone else is already using your name even if it's in connection with the same business as you you could still obtain trademark protection but what if someone has already filed for trademark protection for their name before you and has trademark rights can you still get trademark protection the answer is still maybe alright I'm chock full of good news today so two companies with the same name can both have trademark rights so long as they have different types of goods or services this might surprise people because you may think that once you have a trademark you get a monopoly or exclusive rights to use your name but that's not the case you only get exclusive rights within the same classes or categories or types of goods and services that you offer so think about Delta the airline and Delta the water faucet company both are called Delta both have trademarks and they're allowed to do so because consumers aren't really confused they don't think that the same company that flies planes also helps you get water from your sink so if you have a name that you want to get protected but you're worried because you see somebody else is out there online using it or you know that they have a registered trademark you're not dead in the water yet by contacting a trademark attorney they can run what's called a trademark clearance search and be able to determine one what is your likelihood of success of getting a trademark based upon what other trademarks have been filed before you or what roadblocks might exist for you obtaining trademark protection and by having that information you and your trademark attorney can come up with a plan of how to protect your business name or logo and get all those wonderful and exclusive rights that come with trademark protection but you might be thinking Ethan what are these wonderful benefits that come with getting a trademark I'd love to tell you about them but you've already been watching this video for like two and a half minutes so instead I invite you to visit trademark Tuesday's com where you can download our free guide called how to protect and grow your business or brand with trademarks and it's going to provide you with answers to all common questions about trademarks such as what is the trademark process what are the benefits or what will happen if someone else uses my name so visit trademark Tuesdays dot-com download your free guide and get all those juicy answers to those tough trademark questions that you've been thinking about there's actually coffee in this cup okay not much less but you were thinking I was faking it uh-huh it's coffee it's cold but there's coffee
Thanks for your comment Beula Schlinger, have a nice day.
- Mui Ogbonnaya, Staff Member
a client calls me says he wants to trademark a brand he knows it's being used by another company but it's in a different category one of those categories you reflect in your application to the USPTO the trademark office of the US government anything very early on you have to keep in mind that while you're filling out a trademark application you have to indicate the category in which your brand is working meaning if you are using that specific brand for clothing retail you need to indicate that that's not the same as saying that your brand is limited to that one category and everybody else can choose any other category they want to still use your brand why it's because the basis of trademark infringement is consumer confusion it's nothing to do with categories if a consumer will be confused but the usage of if that your brand in a different category but will be confused as to the source of that brand meaning they will think it's your brand that's going to be a problem so while the application demanded and while the application says that if you want to choose multiple categories you've got to pay for those multiple categories your brand your usage of that trademark for that Brian is not really going to be limited only to that category so when it comes to trademark infringement where they're looking at whether or not you've infringe on somebody else's trademarks they're not only going to be concerned with whether or not you are the same category they're going to look at whether or not you're in logical categories that other applicants would logically be involved in so while somebody might have an application with a specific category like a retail clothing his brand might still get protection in wholesale you might get some protection in related items like outside of clothing like home goods or house products or maybe some electronics depending on what's common in that industry and what other kind of manufacturers and retailers have been involved in so when looking at your trademark and noticing that somebody else may have a trademark in it another kind of category always ask yourself if you were to present this to the market to the consumer it is likely that the consumer will be confused by that mark thinking that your product your mark with your product might be related to products associated with the other come trademarks are not about exactly it's about confusion about whether or not the consumer be confused after the source as to the manufacturer as the retailers whoever providing that one product to always look at it from the side of the consumer so is your brand going to be confused with somebody else's brand because even though they're in different categories they have the exact same name if you have any questions any concerns any issues you want to discuss just leaving down below I'd love to talk see you next time
Thanks Ricky your participation is very much appreciated
- Mui Ogbonnaya
About the author
I've studied highway engineering at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem and I am an expert in arithmetic combinatorics. I usually feel loved. My previous job was woodworking machine operators I held this position for 17 years, I love talking about pool and mushroom hunting. Huge fan of Sophie Turner I practice equestrian: dressage and collect vintage cars.
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