Registering and trademarking your brand name is the first step in protecting the intellectual property of your company. Registering and trademarking your brand name is the first step in protecting the intellectual property of your company. A significant step that can help you safeguard your brand identification against infringement or abuse is registering a trademark for your business. It only takes a few simple steps to register a trademark. The process is quite simple.
In addition to answering some commonly asked questions concerning trademark registration, this guide will lead you through each process required to register and trademark your business name.
What is a trademark?
A trademark is "a term, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and differentiates the source of the goods of one party from those of the others," according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
How to register your company name as a trademark?
It may take longer than you expect to trademark the name of your firm because the process is more complicated than registering an LLC.
1. Search
To make sure the name you wish to trademark isn't already protected as a trademark, you must first do a check of the federal database. The Trademark Electronic Search System, or TESS, of the USPTO, can help you with this. You should look for related names in addition to the ones you desire. If the name is too close to one that has already been registered within the same class, your registration can be rejected.
Even while it seems simple, it can be difficult. For instance, Iguana Ice Cream and Iguana's Ice Cream can be too similar. It may also signify that a registered trademark merely resembles your mark in terms of appearance, sound, or similarity of meaning.
2. Apply
There are 10 parts to a trademark application:
- Address and name of the applicant
- The applicant's nationality and legal status
- Name and contact information for potential correspondence (this does not have to be the same as the name of the applicant)
- A sketch of the intended mark (if you only want to register the name and don't want to submit
- A design element, just write the name in instead)
- A detailed explanation of the mark
- A detailed description of the products or services that the trademark application covers
- The group of products or services
- An illustration of the trademark in use, along with the time it originally appeared
- A dated signature from you or a representative with authority
The right amount of money is about the kind and number of classes listed on the application. For the application process, you might need to have some papers. Get the best quality paper folder here.
3. File
Two filing choices are available to you when you have finished the application: TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard. The Plus option has a lower rejection rate, is less costly, and is more efficient. However, the risk associated with the Standard option may be more advantageous for your circumstance if you need to construct a unique description of your products or services that is not there in the preset list Plus offers.
The USPTO will send you a confirmation receipt once you've filed your application, along with a serial number you can use to monitor the status of your application on the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) site. You might be needing good quality stationary, get the best here.
FAQs on trademarks
1. What distinguishes a trading name from a trademark or service mark?
A service mark protects services just like a trademark does for commodities. However, both kinds of markings are occasionally referred to as trademarks. Both are intended to restrict rivals' capacity to deceive customers about the provenance of a product or service.
The formal business name is substituted with a trading name. Doing business as is a common way to express this on documents (DBA). It is employed when a company name is deemed too long or when the desired name is too similar to one that is protected by a trademark or service mark. (Take note that a trading name does not identify the party legally liable for the service or item.)
Should your business name be trademarked?
To get rights to use your mark, you do not need to register it. In the United States, using a mark in the course of conducting business gives you "common-law rights" to it. This indicates that you may start utilizing it and prove that you were the first to utilize it for profit to assert your ownership of it. There are restrictions on your rights while using a common-law trademark, though.
Numerous benefits come with federal trademark registration. Most significantly, it grants you exclusive rights to use the mark in connection with the products or services you indicated during registration everywhere in the country. Common-law rights are restricted to the immediate geographic region in which you are conducting business, and registering the name with your state only safeguards your rights inside the state's boundaries.
Your ownership of the mark will be publicly acknowledged when you register it with the USPTO, and it will be included in the online database. If you have a federally registered trademark, you can also choose to register it with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to prevent similar-sounding foreign products from being brought into the country. Additionally, you will be permitted to use the federal abbreviation ® rather than the less reliable TM mark.
The primary method you advertise your business to the public is by using its name. Imagine someone else making offerings that are inconsistent with the goals and core principles of your firm by utilizing the name of your organization. You need a trademark to give your business the best possible legal defense.
A trademark application can only cover one type of product. The application must specify each new categorization, and there will be a fee. To be taken into account are 45 classifications. For instance, you would need a Class 12 trademark if your company manufactures automobiles. You would also require a Class 25 trademark if you intended to sell apparel that had the name of the same business on it. To decide which class or classes you should place the name under, take into account exactly how you will be utilizing it.
Who should register a business name as a trademark?
As long as your company's name is distinctive and doesn't sound too much like another name that has already been given a trademark, you can register it. For instance, a name like The Ice Cream Shop is unlikely to qualify for a trademark if it is too ambiguous. Since Iguana Ice Cream distinctively combines two familiar terms, it is more likely to be granted a trademark.
The region you will be serving geographically should also be taken into account. By using the name, you instantly acquire common-law trademark protection, but it's only valid in your immediate vicinity. You should apply for a trademark to safeguard your company if it provides services to several different states.
You could wish to trademark those as well if your company has numerous product lines with distinctive names. For instance, Ford is a trademark of the Ford Motor Company, along with trademarks for the F-150, Mustang, Ranger, and Explorer car lines.
Should I create an LLC or a trademark first?
Whether you should create an LLC or a trademark first primarily depends on the objectives of your firm.
A private limited corporation is referred to as a limited liability company (LLC) within the United States of America. Although you can obtain an LLC from any state, it is typically issued by the state where the business is located. While trademark applications typically take three months to complete, LLC registrations often take less than a day.
It makes logical sense to create the LLC initially if you want to start doing business right away. Applying for the trademark first makes more sense if you have lots of lead time and prefer to protect your federal rights to the name before using it publicly out of concern that it could be appropriated by another party.
Does your company require immediate trademark registration?
You do not need to file a trademark application straight away for your company.
When registering a mark, you often need to be able to demonstrate "use in commerce," which means you had to be able to establish that it was being used before you could do so. The alternative is to submit an intent-to-use (ITU) trademark application.
If you want to proceed with an ITU trademark, you will still need to show that you have been using the mark in commerce by submitting the required paperwork and making the necessary payments on time before the mark is registered.
You may only assert usage in trade one of three times:
- Before publication permission
- Within six months of the notice of allowance being issued (NOA)
- Within the window of time a given extension
There are various techniques to prove usage in business, including the following:
- Putting the mark on the items you sell or the website where you sell items
- Using the logo in connection with the sale of services
- Under federal law, there are three categories of commerce:
- Foreign trade
- Territorial
- Interstate
A business that is restricted to a single state's borders is known as intrastate commerce and is generally unacceptable.
There is no purpose to apply for the trademark first if your company can't yet demonstrate that you are using the mark in commerce or if you won't be able to do so within the parameters of the ICU procedure.
Do I need to register a trademark if I register a business name?
A company name is normally registered at the state level and is not federally protected. There is no purpose to file for a trademark if you are simply intending to provide your services or goods there. However, you would need to file for a trademark if you are providing goods and services in many states and want federal protection for the name of your company.
How do you determine if a mark is already protected by another party?
TESS makes it simple to do numerous types of searches on the federal trademark database. You may look for names, words, and phrases that have been granted a federal trademark using the "basic word mark search" feature.
With the "word and/or design mark search," you may do a database search using either a design, words, or a combination of the two. To perform this efficiently, you'll probably need to be familiar with the design standards.
You may also choose to browse the database's directory or specific fields. You can search by registration or publication date if you have a basic idea of what might have been trademarked but are unsure.
How long is your registration good once it is approved?
The duration of a trademark registration depends on your commitment to upkeep. As long as a trademark is still being used for the intended use after it has been registered, it does not lose its validity. You see, registering a trademark does not give you ownership of the term, phrase, or picture; rather, it grants you the right to use it to distinguish the products or services named in the registration.
Nevertheless, employing it is insufficient. Between the fifth and sixth anniversaries of the registration, you must file a Section 8 declaration with the USPTO to demonstrate that the trademark has continued to be used. This is a straightforward oath.
The actual proof is needed on the tenth anniversary of the registration. This might be a representation of your good or service with the trademark. Every ten years, you must perform this.
Conclusion
Filing a trademark in the USA is not something very daunting as it seems. With the right procedure and approach, anyone can easily file their trademark in the United States.