A trademark is a source identifier – it may be a word, logo, slogan, sound and/or design that when attached to a good or service, enables a consumer to identify the company which produces the good/service.

First, you need to ensure its availability. Before using any trademark or service mark, a search of marks in use can determine whether your proposed mark is available or has already been adopted and used by another. Conducting such a search before using your proposed mark can save much time and many. Also, will help you avoid lawsuit on account of infringing upon another’s trademark.

An experienced trademark attorney can conduct the necessary searches and provide an analysis of availability for the trademark before you spend a penny implementing it. Second, you need to use that mark in connection with your goods or services. Ownership rights to a mark begin to be established by actual use of the mark.

Generally, the first to use a mark is the owner of that mark. However, you should be aware that when someone else has filed an “intent to use” application in the trademark office for a similar mark prior to your own adoption or filing, that person has a right to acquire a registration, effective as of the prior filing date, by making use of the mark within a certain time frame.

You can register a trademark on your own. However, trademark registration is a highly technical process and even minor mistakes can result in lengthy delays or outright refusal to register your trademark. So while you may be reluctant to pay a lawyer to help, it’s worth remembering that the cost of having an application rejected and having to start over will almost always exceed the fee you’d pay an attorney.

The purpose of a federal trademark is to distinguish goods for the public to be able to indicate the source of the goods, through the use of a mark, symbol, or device. A copyright protects the original works of an author. Lastly, a patent is to protect inventions and other discoveries

Our firm charges only $999 including USPTO fees for the application! However, total cost depends on a number of factors, including the nature of the objections raised by the Trademark Office, objections raised by other entities, and the amount of time required to satisfy the requirement to use the mark prior to registration. If a mark is neither generic nor descriptive and is not similar to any other trademark registered in the United States or in use, then the additional cost of registration is likely to be modest.

The time required to register a mark typically ranges from 18 to 36 months, depending on the nature of the objections raised by the Trademark Office, and how quickly the products or services are brought to market after the application is filed. In some cases, the time period will be more than three years.

Although the definition of use in commerce is defined by statute, clarified by case law, and not entirely dispute-free, the short answer is that use in commerce implies that the mark has been used in a trademark sense, i.e., placed on a tag, label, product, or literature accompanying a product, and then shipped to a bona fide customer. For federal registration purposes, “use in commerce” means commerce that Congress is empowered to regulate under the Constitution of the United States. Use of a mark in advertising is not generally “use in commerce” for a trademark, although it may be “use in commerce” for a service mark.

Fanciful marks are terms that have been created for the sole purpose of acting as a trademark; they have no meaning other than as a mark. In short, they are made-up words or nonsense words that become associated with goods or services — representing a valuable investment in branding. 

Fanciful marks are the strongest type of mark and are the easiest to get if you seek trademark registration. Examples of fanciful marks are EXXON and EBAY.

An arbitrary mark is a term with a common meaning that has no relation to the goods or services being sold. Examples of arbitrary marks include APPLE (for computers), LOTUS (for software), and SUN (for computers).

For a trademark registration to remain valid, a Declaration of Use must be filed: (1) between the fifth and sixth year following registration and (2) within the year before the end of every 10-year period after the date of registration.

Registrations granted on or after November 16, 1989 have a 10-year term. Trademarks can be renewed for additional 10-year terms. There is no limit to the number of times a trademark can be renewed, as long as use of the mark by its owner continues.

 Each symbol has a particular use and meaning.

1. ©:  A circle with a “C” is the symbol used to identify that the material is copyrighted.  The most common place to find this symbol is in a book.  However, you are not required by law to show the © in copyrightable material as every copyrightable material automatically receives copyright protection.  There is a registration process to register your copyrightable work.  Such registration gives you important advantages in a copyright dispute and should be done at or very soon after publication of your work.  
2. ™:  The TM nearby a word or logo means that the word or logo is an unregistered mark for goods such as clothing, tools, machines, lotions, and such.  This symbol is also used if the trademark has been applied for but has not yet been granted by the trademark office.  Similar to copyrights, a unregistered trademark lacks important benefits that attach to registered trademarks.
3. ℠:  The SM nearby a word or logo means that the word or logo is an unregistered mark for services such as counseling, construction, handyman/repair work, employment recruiters, and such.  This symbol is also used if the service mark has been applied for but has not yet been granted by the trademark office.  Similar to copyrights, a unregistered service mark lack important benefits that attach to registered service marks.
4. ®:   A circle with a “R” nearby a word or logo means that the words or logo is registered.  This is true either of marks for goods or for services.  A registered mark has many legal advantages over unregistered marks.

Standard character marks refer to the protected use of a word or words without regard for the way in which the words are presented – so long as the presentation of the mark does not cause confusion with another mark-holder’s stylized mark. In other words, the word or words can be presented in any configuration, font, color, or capitalization style. We generally advise clients to pursue standard character marks because the protection provided to such marks allows for marks to evolve over time.

Stylized marks are marks that are not for standard characters; they include stylized word marks – words written in a particular font, color, or configuration; stylized graphic marks – illustrations or symbols that function as a mark; and three-dimensional marks – three-dimensional objects, like the shape of a product or the product packaging, that relate the source of the goods to consumers. In some instances, stylized word and graphic marks may be combined in one mark. In those cases, however, only the specific configuration identified in the application will be protected. For this reason, RLFPLLC generally advises its clients to separately pursue word and graphic marks, which allows the two to be used together in any configuration.