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Trademarks can help you and your business protect your brand! While it is not required, a trademark can give you a strong legal position when enforcing your rights against someone trying to use your name or brand.
Yocum Law can help you navigate the United States Patent and Trademark Office from beginning to end, confirming the your mark is a good candidate for trademarking and making sure that your application is complete.
A trademark is a phrase, word, design, symbol, or combination thereof that is used to identify and distinguish the source of goods or services. It is used to distinguish and differentiate your products or services from everyone else’s. A trademark is often used to strengthen brand recognition because consumers associate it with your products, which is one of the reasons why it’s so important to protect it.
There are several different types of marks:
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Design Mark: Design marks are images that create brand recognition, such as logos. Trademarks of this type protect the visual elements of a brand (i.e., a logo) regardless of words used in the image.
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Word Mark: Word marks consist of a word or phrase. They include but aren’t limited to slogans, taglines, and brand names. The protection applies to the words themselves instead of how they appear in an image or design.
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Composite Mark: These marks combine words and design, such as a font specially stylized for a particular brand. Well-known examples include Coca-Cola and BMW.
It is not required, but definitely recommended and here is why:
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It gives others "notice" of your mark
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You can be awarded monetary damages in the event of that someone else infringes on your mark
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It serves as a basis for foreign registration, ensuring global protection of your brand
After using your federally registered mark for five years, you may also be permitted to apply for "incontestable" status of the mark, which gives you additional advantages in trademark disputes.
The process can be confusing and time-consuming! Additionally Federal law allows trademarks to be rejected if they are:
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Confusingly similar to trademarks that are already registered or pending;
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Merely descriptive of the goods or services;
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Misleading (meaning they misrepresent or falsely describe the goods or services);
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Generic;
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Deceptive, immoral, or scandalous; or
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Disparaging or falsely suggesting a connection with a person, institution, belief, or national symbol.
Yocum Law can help you navigate the process to make sure that your mark has the best chance of registration!