Trademark

What is a Trademark?

It is your business identity expressed as a name, number, symbol, design, slogan, and three-dimensional marks (product shapes). Trademarks are applicable to products and service marks are applicable to services (collectively known as “marks”), both of which are treated identically under the law.

Whom must apply for a registration?

Trademarks as well as service marks are applicable to not-for-profit and for profit organizations, and the mark may be registered on the State or Federal level depending on the specific facts of the case.

Why register your business identity or trademarks?

Trademarks serve as a source identifier to the world to prevent consumer confusion and therefore one of the most important assets a business owns. Afterall, how else would consumers come to know your business identity if not through the name you promote. The trademarks are applied each time you affix your mark to product labels, stationary, packaging, internet site, signage or use it at networking events, namely expos and workshops, or publish it on advertising materials to be used for exhibit booths, domain names, and meta tags to name a few. As your business evolves, so does the reputation or goodwill attached to your products and services. As the most important tool to protect your business identity, a federal trademark registration provides some of the following advantages:

• A federally registered mark is presumed valid.
• Provides exclusive rights to use the mark in connection with your goods or services
• Notice of ownership to the public through use of the following superscript symbols \”tm\”, \”sm\”, or “®” after the mark
• Statutory remedies where infringement occurs
• Allowing for registration with the U.S. Customs Office to prohibit infringing goods from entering into the United States.

Does the internet affect trademark rights?

Trademarks are ever more important with the popularity of the internet. Once the trademarks are placed anywhere on the website and/or used as a domain name, it becomes vitally important to federally register the trademarks because you are exposing your unregistered marks around the globe. Trademarks are not only found in URLs, but also in meta tags(hidden code words on a website), text on web pages, and key words used in search engines.

Flowchart Trademark Procedure