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Written by : Richard Wirsing |
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Bon genican King presents trademarks common law versus federal registration trademarks can be highly valuable assets for a business a trademark is a distinctive mark a name a logo a shape color sound or any combination of these that serves to distinguish one party's goods and services from those of another in the United States certain trademark rights may arise through use of the mark these are called common law rights under common law no registration or filing is necessary rights may attach under state law when a distinctive mark is the first to be used in commerce in connection with particular goods and services it must be used continuously and you must prove that consumers associate that distinctive mark with the particular goods and services however common law trademark rights are limited to the geographic region in which they are used for example if a product is marketed and sold in New York State only trademark rights under common law would be limited to New York State to obtain greatest protection for trademarks federal registration with the united states patent and trademark office should be considered federal trademark registration provides many benefits and advantages over common law rights first federal registration provides nationwide exclusivity this can be of critical importance in today's Internet age especially when almost every business has a nationwide online presence to the use of web pages Twitter Facebook Linkedin etc second federal registration can be searched via the united states patent and trademark office online database and for companies who search that database they will see your federal registration and potentially be discouraged from using those marks as well as confusingly similar marks which can prevent issues before they arise third if you need to enforce your trademark federal trademark law provides many advantages in court for example in court you will have a legal presumption that your federal trademark is valid whereas your opponent will have the burden of proving that your trademark is not valid additionally attorneys fees and triple damages may be awarded in instance of willful infringement fourth federal trademark registration allows you to register that mark with the US Customs and Border Patrol office customs can prevent the import of goods that bear you a registered trademark but are not authorized by you this can be key in preventing foreign counterfeits fifth federal trademark registration allows you to use the are in a circle symbol unregistered trademarks cannot use the are in a circle symbol and this can provide you marketing cachet but more importantly it tells your competitors that you have federal rights in that trademark these are just some of the advantages of federal trademark registration over common law rights having a federal trademark registration can give you an edge over your competitors and is generally considered a prudent investment in today's market bond genican king experienced commitment to service and value from a law firm anticipating and responding to your unique needs
Thanks for your comment Marybeth Kruzel, have a nice day.
- Richard Wirsing, Staff Member
hi my name is Aaron Stewart and I'm an attorney in Northern California my business focus is on business law estate planning and intellectual property now today I'd like to talk to you about trademarks with a trademark there are basically two areas of law that apply at least in the state of California or rather two schemes one is your common law trademark rights and the other are your federal trademark rights now common law what that means is basically what your state law is going to say about your trademark generally that's called an unfair competition law and that basically means that you start acquiring the ability to protect the mark that you're using when you start using it in commerce common law rights though are very limited in the sense that they are limited to the geographic scope in which your products or services apply so that if I start a business in Northern California and I have a certain trademark associated with it and somebody starts a competing business out in Washington chances are I can't enforce my trademark rights because at a common law level they don't expand that far now that's where federal registration comes in federal rights one of the most important aspect to them is that it gives your mark federal nationwide constructive notice of the validity of that mark and what I mean by constructive notice is that everyone in the nation is presume to know that your mark is valid at least for those goods and services that it's registered under and so that means that you're no longer restricted to your own geographic area so if somebody starts a competing business on the other side of the nation you have a legitimate chance of sending them a cease and desist letter and preventing them from doing that which is a lot stronger right than just being able to stay in your own state because it can work the other way around you may think well I'm never going to expand my business out of this certain geographic area so the juice really isn't worth the squeeze for the federal protection but if somebody else has an idea to use that mark at a nationwide level and they start using it later than you it is possible they could register it and some time later contact you and say please stop using your mark there are obviously more issues that are involved with that having to do with priority but the point is is that it can cause you some problems so even if you don't intend on using your trademark registration as a sword it's a good idea to have it as a shield so for the two hundred and seventy-five dollars it costs for the filing fee of a trademark application it's usually a pretty good idea to put forward if you're able to if you have more questions about what's involved in a trademark application or whether or not you can trademark your mark please give me a call at my law firm or contact me through my website thank you
Thanks barbiepopQ your participation is very much appreciated
- Richard Wirsing
About the author
I've studied foreign policy at Barclay College in Haviland and I am an expert in strategy. I usually feel gloomy. My previous job was marriage and family therapists I held this position for 22 years, I love talking about embroidery and metaverse. Huge fan of Issac Newton I practice windsurfing and collect for sports cards.
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