Guide to U.S. Trademark Law

Selecting The Trademark

If you have a mark in mind, consult a trademark attorney about its use and registration. LEAF BLOWER, the generic name for leaf blowers, cannot be registered as a trademark. Terms that are “merely descriptive” of the product cannot be registered on the Principal Register without proof that consumers associate the mark with product source. Thus, the PTO may reject LAWNCLEANER as “merely descriptive” of your leaf blower. SMERDRUF, a whimsical leaf blower mark, is registrable. The odd mark BLUE HERON would be registrable for a leaf blower.

US trademark rights come from commercial use of the brand. You establish common law rights to your mark by utilising it in trade as a source identification. Federal Registration protects trademark rights.

Trademark law protects distinct marks differently. Unlike suggestive or descriptive marks, fanciful, arbitrary, or discordant markings are protected. You can strengthen your common law rights and increase your prospects of federal registration by consulting with a trademark attorney to avoid using a generic or descriptive mark. Consultation with a trademark expert will also assist you avoid selecting a mark that would be disallowed from federal registration for other reasons, saving you application fees and trademark screening and clearance searches.

Selecting The Trademark

We believe all trademark users should understand trademark law to act wisely. Our service includes client education. As a new customer, we’ll schedule a session to discuss critical trademark concerns

After a preliminary knock-out screening to detect any obvious trademark conflicts, we undertake a detailed trademark search and produce an attorney opinion letter. The industry-standard comprehensive search covers common law trademarks, USPTO registrations and applications, 50 state trademark registrars, company names, and domain names. Our comprehensive search report is based on decades of trademark search research by a renowned company.

Our extensive search reports are not generated by computer search software like some legal firms. Our legal opinion relies on the full search report, thus it must be accurate. We use humans, not machines, to produce the outcomes you need.

Federal Registration

After screening and clearance searches, federal registration usually improves trademark rights. An skilled trademark attorney can manage registration processes. A trademark attorney can help you avoid an office action, which is a letter from the trademark examiner objecting to your mark’s registration.

The PTO examining attorney will notify you by email or letter if your mark is accepted for publication in the Official Gazette. The Gazette notifies third parties of your mark’s pending registration, usually because they feel it will infringe on their trademarks.

Trademark Enforcement

As a trademark owner, you must monitor the market for infringing uses and stop them. If you don’t enforce your trademark rights, third parties may use identical names for similar goods and services and eventually erode them. A watching service will frequently verify uses of your mark or similar marks and warn you of potential infringements. Your trademark attorney can help you choose the right trademark watching services.

Maintaining Your Registration

In order to keep a federal trademark registration active, there are various filings that need to be done on a regular basis and that are required by law. Between the fifth and sixth anniversary of the date of your registration, you will be required to submit either an Affidavit or Declaration of Use, stating that you are continuing to use the mark in commerce, or an Affidavit/Declaration of Excusable Nonuse, explaining that any nonuse of the mark is due to special circumstances and not due to an intention to abandon the mark. In either case, you must explain that any nonuse of the mark is not due to an intention to abandon the In the event that you do not submit either the Affidavit of Use or the Excusable Nonuse, the registration will be terminated. An application for renewal must be submitted no later than one year before the date on which the registration will expire, or within the grace period of six months after the registration will have expired, whichever comes first. In the event that no application for renewal is submitted within this time frame, the registration will be cancelled. Your trademark attorney will be able to provide assistance in ensuring that you do not miss any of these crucial deadlines.

Guide To U.S. Trademark Law

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Trademark Monitoring

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Trademark Litigation

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