How to register a company name as a trademark [Definitive Guide]

Last updated : Aug 11, 2022

How do I trademark my business name for free?

You can not register a trademark for free. However, you can establish something known as a "common law trademark" for free, simply by opening for business. The benefit of relying on common law trademark rights is that it's free, and you don't need to do any specific work filling out forms, etc.

How do I trademark a name and logo?

1. Complete a trademark search.
2. Secure your rights.
3. Submit an initial application at uspto.gov on the Trademark Electronic Application System or TEAS.
4. Fill out the TEAS form for an initial application. Be sure to upload the file of your logo.
5. Submit an "intent-to-use" form.
6. Pay the fees.

Do I need to trademark my business name?

There's no legal requirement for you to register a trademark. Using a business name can give you 'common law' rights, even without formally registering it.

Can I trademark a name myself?

You can trademark your name if it has business or commercial value. Trademarking your name gives you an additional brand and keeps others from using your name. To trademark your name you must meet specific requirements with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

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 get a trademark or LLC first?

4. Should you get an LLC first or trademark? Yes, you should get an LLC first before a trademark because the trademark application will need to identify the LLC as the trademark owner. You should create an LLC or business entity before you file a trademark application.

How much is a trademark?

No matter how you file, you will pay a minimum of $250 to apply for a Federal trademark. But considering the importance of your trademark, and the potential complexities you face when filing, it's not a bad idea to use a lawyer or filing service.

How much does it cost to trademark my logo?

What Does it Cost to Trademark a Logo? The cost to trademark a logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is $275–$660 as of June 2020, plus legal fees. You can register a trademark with your state for $50-$150, but federal registration offers a great deal more legal protection.

Should I copyright or trademark 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.

What happens if I don't trademark my business?

If you do not register your trademark, you will have legal rights only within the geographic areas where you operate. This means you may be able to stop a subsequent user of the mark, even if it is a bigger company, from using the mark in your geographic area only.

What are the benefits of registering a trademark?

• A Federal Trademark Registration Protects Against Infringement.
• A Federal Trademark Registration Provides Nationwide Validity.
• A Federal Trademark Registration is a Valuable Asset.
• Unique Trademarks Helps Customers Find You.

What are the five steps in registering a trademark?

1. Think of a trademark that identifies with the goods you are offering or that is unique.
2. Search the USPTO trademark database.
3. File your application with the USPTO.
4. Pay the processing fee.
5. Keep track of the application process.

What is the difference between copyright and trademark?

Copyrights primarily protect the rights of people who create literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works (like history tests, and software code). Trademarks protect the use of a company's name and its product names, brand identity (like logos) and slogans.

What are the three types of trademarks?

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

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.

What is the cheapest way to get a 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).

What is the difference between a business name and a trademark?

It is routine practice to have business entities register in the Office of their Secretary of State. The trademark performs a different function than the trade name. The trade name identifies the company while a trademark distinguishes and identifies the source of the goods or services.

How do I make my brand legal?

You can register an original trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's principal register. Having your trademark on this list will be beneficial in case you find yourself in a trademark dispute. If you only use a descriptive brand name, you will have to register it with the supplemental register.

What does a trademark protect?

A trademark typically protects brand names and logos used on goods and services. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work. A patent protects an invention.

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man oh man that how to trademark your uh business name video that i put up about a year ago oh it's so cringeworthy it's yellow it's grainy i feel like i was just so confusing and talking a whole bunch of crap in that video so that is why we're putting up a whole new updated how to trademark your business name video for 2021. what's up everyone what's up fam welcome back to the channel for my og subbies and for my new folks welcome welcome my name is jolene dukedeer you can call me jill d and on this channel we talk about cannabis business and entrepreneurship from a legal perspective and today we're talking a little bit about how to trademark your business name i have an old video that i put up in 2020 my og subscribers know what i'm talking about it is so yellow and so grainy so outdated i hate that video it's one of my most popular videos to date but i think we could do better so today we're gonna do an updated version of that video i'm gonna go into a little bit more detail and hopefully it'll be a little bit easier to understand for you guys before i jump in please don't forget to subscribe to the channel share the video with someone who you think could benefit from the content and like it and give it a thumbs up if you enjoy the content i would really appreciate it and i appreciate you for watching so at the outset the beginning of this entire filing for a trademark for your business name process we want to go ahead and do some background research and some digging before we even touch an application all right so that's gonna mean you're gonna hit up google run a quick search for your business name or names that are similar to yours check out the different social media platforms and see what's out there if you run into things that are like established businesses that have the same name or a similar name to yours that might be an indication that there is a pending mark or an already registered mark already existing with the patent and trademark office and that could present a problem for you down the road but the most important step in this background research is getting a trademark search done like a clearance search there is a database that the patent and trademark office provides all of us it's public that you can search to find different marks that are registered that are dead that are live that are pending and it's called tests t-e-s-s and where would we find test jill it's linked for you below in the description box it's literally similar to google so you would just put your business name in there or any variation thereof and it should pull up any pending registered or dead marks that contain your name that is the same as your name or maybe even similar to your name in some instances so you could look at the records and see what's out there that is pending or registered or dead with the patent and trademark office so if you pull up a bunch of records and they have the same name as you that is an indication that you might run into some problems in the future with your trademark application so it's very important that you go into each record and take a look at what's there are they abandoned are they dead are they live are they registered these things do matter so take a look at each record that you pull up that's similar or the same to your as yours and um dive in a little bit deeper and see what's really going on with that record now if you are doing this my chair is really squeaky if you're doing this and you are confused or you can't make heads or tails of anything that you're seeing and you're it's just stressing you out and you're not confident then at that point i recommend that you get a legal professional to assist you with doing the clearance search the trademark clearance search it doesn't have to be me it's just anyone that knows what they're doing so that you can interpret the results correctly and make a decision based on the feedback a good sound decision based on the feedback because you don't want to get to the end of the process where you've already paid for this application just to get a refusal letter saying that there's somebody else that has the same name as you um or whatever the case may be so do the upfront work so you don't have to worry about it at the back end i'm all for you guys doing things diy i love to diy myself but sometimes it just makes more sense to have someone else help you and that's real talk no cap why did i say cap like that no cap no cap it's no cap right whatever put no cap down in the comments so the next thing you'll want to do after you've already done your clearance search and you've gotten your head wrapped your head around on your actual name and what's out there is you're going to want to get a handle on what class or classes you're gonna file in i already have a video that goes over trademark classes i'll go ahead and put the thumbnail here and link it in the cards for you above and i also put a link in the description box so y'all can't you like you just can't miss it that video goes over the 45 different um trademark classes like not in detail all 45 but it gives you a good overview of what trademark classes are and how they play with your whole trademark registration in general so the way that you can um actually sort of figure out or get a good idea about what sort of classes you'll fall into or class you'll fall into is you can run a search on the patent and trademark office's id manual and i also link that for you down below you navigate to that you can put in like your industry or your type of goods that you're going to be selling let's just say clothing for example if you put in clothing you'll see a ton of results that come up you'll see on one side a bunch of numbers which will include the class for that particular um good or service and then you'll also see a series of descriptions so if you go through that these are already existing in the patent and trademark office database they're already there so if you go through that you can get a good sense of what class you need to be in and then take a look at the descriptions and see if they're appropriate for you so now that you've gathered up all of this background information you've got a clearance search done you have a good idea of what's out there like with your name or a similar name and now you have a good idea of what class you're going to be filing in or classes you're going to be filing in along with a description of your goods or services you should be at a good point to start your trademark application so you can do this online there's an electronic application i don't know who's still doing a whole bunch of paper stuff in 2021 or at all we're not even going to mention 2020 like we're going to go what was it whatever 2019 um we're not even going to talk about 2020 but like yeah there's electronic applications there's uh several different options that you have available to you and each application type has different features so it's probably a good idea to go and research each application type to see what the requirements are and to see if they fit your situation once you've selected your application type

Thanks for your comment Billye Reikowsky, have a nice day.
- Kennith Boies, Staff Member

hi everyone I'm attorney aid in Durham with 180 lock Oh in Denver Colorado and you're watching all up in your business in this episode of all up in your business we're going to talk about the steps to take to trademark a name a business name or a product or service name and these steps are also going to apply to trademarking a logo but there are a few little differences if you're doing a logo versus trying to trademark a name but first before we get into it huge announcement coming at you March 4th is brandish DIY your trademark application during this one-hour webinar and mini workshop I'm going to teach you step by step how to prepare for complete and submit a trademark application without a lawyer and registration opens soon so if you want to learn the exact steps to take to file a trademark application without a lawyer check the description below for a link to get on the waitlist and to get some special early bird discount opportunities - all right let's talk about how to trademark a name the first step before you go trade marking anything is make sure it's something that's worth trademarking what makes a name more or less worth trade marking it really depends on how strong or weak it is a weak trademark is one that is more generic or common or descriptive versus a strong trademark which is something that's very arbitrary or very distinctive very creative and so the stronger your trademark is the stronger the trademark registration is going to be so if you have a really weak trademark something that typically makes it weak is if it's very descriptive of your goods or your services or if it's primarily your last name something like that makes a trademark on the weaker side and with a weak trademark if you register it all you have is a registered weak trademark and your trademark rights will ruffle to that if you have a weak generic trademark name your rights to enforce that trademark are gonna be somewhat limited and weaker versus if you have a very arbitrary name that's a stronger trademark then your registered trademark rights are gonna be a lot stronger to a few examples of very strong trademarks are like Google Google wasn't even a word until Google came out and created it so any like brand new word or creating a new word creating a new sound combining words to create something new that's the best thing you can do is create a brand new word or a brand new trademark that no one's ever seen before that's gonna make it stronger versus a weaker trademark so if we've decided that it's worth pursuing a trademark registration the next thing we want to do is make sure it's available to even register and use in the US a good first place to start with searching for your trademark availability is of course Google or your favorite search engine type in the trademark that you're looking to register and see what comes up if there's a bunch of other business listings for similar types of products or services if the exact trademark that you want comes up a lot or if there are a lot of similar variations then that might be a little red flag that maybe this trademark has already taken or if it's not taken necessarily registered if there's a lot of competition with that trademark that's going to affect how strong and distinctive your trademark is so if you're seeing a lot of similar variations of your trademark or identical trademarks then you might want to think about how that will impact your registration and then after doing a Google search you can also do a search on the Whois database to see what kind of domain name registrations already exists that incorporate your trademark or something similar to it and then the USP tA-o has a really good search database available - this allows you to search for pending trademark applications and registered trademarks that might be identical or similar to yours so if you go to the USPTO s website its uspto.gov and you'll navigate to their tests tes s system and this is where you're gonna do that search and you'll usually be able to do just a basic word search for your name now this is where the difference comes in if you're trying to trademark a logo then you'll want to do a design search which is a bit more complicated than just a basic word search so here you can type in the trademark name that you're wanting to use for this example I'm gonna type in all up in your business and then we'll see what comes up so let's say you were wanting to register your trademark all up in your business for your local ice cream shop we see here there is an active live registration for all up in yo business so what's important to note if you do find trademarks that are identical to yours or kind of similar to yours pay attention also to the goods or services that are associated with that registration there are two things primarily that go into trademark applications and trademark registrations the first is the similarity of the trademark itself the second is the similarity of the goods or services so if I'm opening an ice cream shop called all opinio business this current all up in your business registration is for like legal services and things that have absolutely nothing to do with ice cream or ice cream shops so with this finding I am relatively safe feeling like I can proceed with my application because there aren't any that are so similar in trademark and in the goods and services that it's likely it'll get through but if you do find something in the database that is kind of similar to your trademark and goods or services are somewhat related or if they're identical then again that's a red flag that you're going to want to take into consideration and maybe go back to the drawing board because if someone else already has that trademark registered in a very related category of goods or services that's going to impact how your application goes and whether or not you're going to get that registration you can also use some third-party trademark search tools there are companies out there that will do a very thorough trademark search these aren't lawyers or law offices they're just trademark search companies that will search the USPTO and common-law usage and even international usage and then what they'll do is they'll compile all the information and give you typically this very large report summarizing what they found now if you're not a lawyer and you don't know how to actually interpret and analyze those results it may not do you a whole lot of good to pay for that kind of a search but if you can figure out how to analyze what you're looking at then using one of those services for a pretty extensive search is a good idea but really the best option is to use an attorney to help you with this clearance search because the attorney is gonna not only know what to search for but they're also going to understand what they're looking at and they're gonna know how to analyze that in the context of your trademark and determine what it actually means for the fate of your trademark application so if we've determined we want to file the application and the trademark is available the next step is to start using the trademark now ok

Thanks racercest5 your participation is very much appreciated
- Kennith Boies

About the author

Kennith Boies

I've studied ethnomusicology at Florida College in Temple Terrace and I am an expert in domestic policy. I usually feel crazy. My previous job was health case manager I held this position for 31 years, I love talking about car fixing & building and jukskei. Huge fan of Ozzy Osbourne I practice boxing and collect phone cards.