Can you register a trademark [From Experts]

Last updated : Sept 29, 2022

How do I make my own trademark?

A unique logo can be trademarked by registering it with the USPTO. Anyone can apply online on the USPTO website if the business for which they're authorized to file is principally located inside the U.S. If based outside the U.S., a patent attorney will be required to make the filing.

How do you add a trademark to your name?

Key takeaway: To register and trademark your brand name, search the TESS database for similar brand names, fill out the trademark application and submit it to the USPTO for review.

What Cannot be registered as a trademark?

Names Which Cannot Be Registered Section 13 and 14 of the Act provides that trademarks containing specific names cannot be registered. Trademarks which have a word that is commonly used of any single chemical element or chemical compound in relation to a chemical substance or preparation cannot be registered.

What are the three types of trademark?

What you'll learn: Arbitrary and Fanciful Trademarks. Suggestive Trademarks. Descriptive Trademarks.

How long does a trademark last?

A federal trademark lasts 10 years from the date of registration, with 10-year renewal terms. Between the fifth and sixth year after the registration date, the registrant must file an affidavit to state that the mark is still in use.

Should I trademark or copyright my logo?

How to legally protect your logo design. To protect your logo, you need a trademark or service mark (trademarks are generally used for products, while service marks are usually applied to services). You should not copyright or patent a logo design.

Can I put TM on my logo without registering?

The (TM) symbol actually has no legal meaning. You can use the symbol on any mark that your company uses without registering it. The most common use of the TM symbol is on a new phrase, logo, word, or design that a company plans to register through the USPTO.

What is the cheapest way to trademark?

The basic cost to trademark a business name ranges from $225 to $600 per trademark class. This is the cost to submit your trademark application to the USPTO. The easiest and least expensive way to register your trademark is online, through the USPTO's Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).

Can you trademark a name without a business?

You can't register a trademark for non-business purposes. You can only trademark a brand name that you're using in business or that you intend to use in business in the near future.

What Cannot be protected by trademark?

The trademark as under are prohibited for trademark registration if it; Possesses such nature which deceives the public. Contains any word or matter which is likely to hurt the religious sentiments of any class of citizens of India. Contains scandalous or obscene content.

Can you trademark something that already exists?

If you're wondering, "can you trademark something that already exists," the simple answer is "no." Generally speaking, if somebody has used a trademark before you, you can't register the trademark for yourself.

Can I trademark a phrase already used?

Trademarked phrases are only protected against the use of others in the same business class. The phrase must identify the commercial organization as the source of goods or services for the trademark. You cannot apply to trademark a phrase if the same phrase is already registered or has a pending application.

Why do you trademark a name?

Names hold power in business. So establishing ownership of and rights to a business name is an important step for businesses that want to ensure a name remains one-of-a-kind. Registering a trademark helps protect a name or brand from intellectual property theft or misuse as a business grows.

When should you trademark a product?

In many cases, a business will want to start the trademark application as soon as their LLC or corporation paperwork is filed. By filing for a trademark prior to launch, you can be sure that your name is protected once you begin commercial sales. However, there may be an even stronger reason to apply early.

What is the purpose of registering a trademark?

A registered trademark establishes ownership over the brand, name or logo. It protects your brand from any unauthorized use of the third party. The registered trademark proves that the product totally belongs to you and you have exclusive rights to use, sell, and modify the brand or goods in whichever manner you want.

Can you lose a trademark if you don't protect it?

If you don't enforce your trademark, you risk losing reputation, business, sales, customers, and more to the infringer. There's also a concept in trademark law called abandonment. Generally, if you don't use your mark for three years or more, it's considered abandoned.

What can I do with a trademark?

A trademark protects a good or service offered by a company from infringement or damage of reputation by another company. With a trademark, you have legal recourse to sue another company that uses your likeness to further their own business ventures. This includes both registered and unregistered trademarks.

How long does a trademark take to get approved?

Usually, the process takes 12 to 18 months. Registering your trademark is a complex procedure that involves your application moving through various stages. Learning about each stage in the process will help you understand why getting a trademark takes as long as it does.

Should I trademark before LLC?

It is important to get BOTH an LLC and a trademark and it is best to form the LLC BEFORE applying for a trademark. Each offers different protections, and they work together to provide broad protection for your business. It is better to form an LLC before filing a trademark application.

How can I protect my logo legally?

If you want to protect your brand identity you have to register a trademark for your company name, logos, and slogans. By using the trademark symbol, you notify other people that products they use are your property. In order to prevent unauthorized use of your mark by third parties, you have to choose a strong one.

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can you register a trademark when there is already a service mark on it that's the question I'm answering today I'm Aaron Hall an attorney representing business owners in Minneapolis Minnesota let's imagine that you want to register a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office that would give you a federal registered trademark but there's already service mark out there does that pose a problem and if so what do you do about that that's the challenge we're tackling today all right so what is a trademark let's start there a trademark is a name a term a logo a mark whatever it is that is being used in association with selling goods or services now so for example think about the Nike shoe Nike we not you hear Nike you think of the shoe company when you see the swoosh which is the Nike logo you think the Nike shoe company you probably don't think oh is that lightning on the shoe is that a wave no you see the image and you go oh that logo represents a company called Nike they sell shoes same with the word Nike so those are examples of trademarks the swoosh and the word Nike because they show an association between the source our Goods and the source of those goods the company Nike but I also said the source of services so Nike primarily sells goods that's products shoes but you can also do a trademark for services and technically that's called a service mark so a trademark is for goods and products a service mark is for services services like a law firm a laundromat a painter a mechanic a realtor all these things are examples of services so imagine that you want to register a trademark but somebody is already using it for a service the question comes down to two issues trademark infringement and trademark dilution let's talk about trademark infringement first is the term that the mark that you're going to use confusingly similar to what the service company is already using and in the industry they're in so let's take a simple example here let's say it's a real estate company and they're called whitewater real estate and you want to ought you want to have a clothing company called whitewater clothing well those are significantly different I don't think in my mind if you were to ask me I don't think if I heard whitewater as it relates to real estate that I'd be like oh that sounds like whitewater clothing they're probably the same company so that's kind of that's the trademark infringement question are they confusingly similar would a member of the public a reasonable person think that they're somehow similar enough and from the same company the second issue is trademark dilution and it's a very similar analysis but the question is are they confusingly similar enough that although they might not be confused as the same company or the same source would they be consume confuses somehow related for example let's say I wanted to create a company called Mercedes computer company well Mercedes car company I don't think sells computers so you might think hey it's different enough it's a whole different industry it's not confusingly similar you might say that however because Mercedes is a very unique term and a term that is so well known throughout the United States Mercedes at least would have a claim for trademark dilution basically saying look even though nobody thinks your little computer company is related to us a premium car company you're ruining the word Mercedes or you're diluting it you're devaluing that term and so we're suing you for trademark dilution and they Mercedes could sue the Mercedes computer company and claim that Mercedes as it relates to computers is diluting the Mercedes car company brand and they must immediately stop or the computer company must stop using that so the analysis is very similar is it confusingly similar but we have to ask two questions first if it's not so similar the public thinks it's the same company is it so similar that it's somehow diluting or harming the reputation and that the brand and the intellectual property rights of a company that has a registered trademark or has trademark rights so back to the question can you use a mark for your trademark if somebody is already using it for a service or they have a service mark yes you can as long as it's not confusingly similar and it's it's not harming their brand they don't have some big brand that would be big harmed by that no you can't if it is confusingly similar now you might say how do I know if it's confusingly similar and admittedly all the experts will agree there's ambiguity in the law and and that's the nature of this area of law there is no perfect way to have a bright-line answer and go oh yeah that that would that's confusing the similar or that's not in these shades of gray so who decides you might be wondering the finder effect in other words if there's a lawsuit between Mercedes car company and Mercedes computer company and it goes before a judge the judge decides the judge would be sitting as the finder of fact the judge would decide is this confusingly similar now if there's a jury that the jury is the finder effect the jury would decide are the two marks confusingly similar this is a pretty high level if you're interested in more information you can see the link in the description below to my website at aaron hall calm if you'd like more educational videos like this you can subscribe to this channel and please see the disclaimer below I highlight these issues as general education not as a substitute for getting legal advice so it is important to talk to an attorney in your jurisdiction if you have actual legal issues that you're dealing with thanks for joining me here today I'm Aaron Hall I look forward to seeing you on the next video

Thanks for your comment Rufus Vanartsdalen, have a nice day.
- Mirtha Taake, Staff Member

so you own a pretty catchy dot-com domain name to sell your goods and services sort of like what amazon.com does so why should you still register a trademark well imagine you own a piece of property car se or a plot of land what's to stop someone from coming over and saying that it's their land not yours where you have the deeds and proof of ownership to show that use the land legally belongs to you in order to avoid this from happening a trademark registration is very similar to this it might sound simple but you'll be surprised how often ownership disputes occur new businesses and people choose the same word or word combinations already being used and trademarked by other brands if you don't register yours then down the line you may get third-party claims against your brand these usually involve messy and costly legal proceedings to establish whose rights are earlier and stronger this is where trademark registration comes in handy it records when you stated your claim for that particular brand in addition the process of registering a trademark usually includes publication of your claim to the public for a period of time in which anybody can raise an opposition trademarks also help if there are disputes about who is in touch with social media handles like getting a channel on YouTube or Twitter handle even if you initially managed to convince YouTube to give you the channel name if anybody else owns a trademark registration you run the risk that they will approach YouTube and demand it your channel name be taken away and given to them anybody can whether a regular citizen a legal professional or corporate entity you can apply for a trademark for US trademarks you do not need to be an attorney if you're an American citizen or the applicant is a corporation or organization domiciled in the US but often you may want to use the services of an attorney to avoid some mistakes that could ultimately lead to not getting the trademark registered and that's where the trade markers Network comes in you see there's only a limited amount of words and pronounceable sounds in the English language so the capture your brand is the more likely it is somebody's already filed for it whereas granted a trademark before you but for this person to retain the rights of a trademark registration they also need to use it and declare such use to the trademark office when a trademark is also granted in one or more specific classes for example retail clothing or software consulting for each class you need to describe the goods or services you will be using the trademark for and importantly provide proof that you're actually using the market so it's worthwhile to seek guidance for these critical steps to place your brand in the right class to suit your business needs if during the publication of your trademark application somebody feels that they should be entitled to the exclusive use of the mark instead they can file what is called an opposition the result is that the US Patent and Trademark Office or trademark office in the applicable country then goes through the process of determining who has an earlier priority date and stronger riped and then makes a decision whether to grant you the trademark or not during these proceedings hope the applicant and holder may submit evidence as to who started using the trademark earlier and who is legally entitled to its ownership please feel free to watch more of our videos to get valuable insights about the mechanics of applying for trademark registrations defending your marks opposing other conflicting marks dealing with office actions and many other intellectual property issues my name is Jonathan Morton and I'm a licensed US attorney and a member of the trade markers Network don't forget to subscribe you

Thanks umakasmoy your participation is very much appreciated
- Mirtha Taake

About the author

Mirtha Taake

I've studied literary genre at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and I am an expert in literary theory. I usually feel lonely. My previous job was medical and scientific illustrator I held this position for 17 years, I love talking about microbiology and zen tangles. Huge fan of Jillie Mack I practice fencing and collect books.