Dallas Business Attorney: To trademark, or not to trademark?
Posted on | August 20, 2011 | No Comments
Dallas Business Attorney: I speak to many small business owners each week, and one of the main questions I receive is whether they should file for a trademark. To clarify, a trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of those, that identifies and distinguishes a distinct good of the registering party. A servicemark, which is often confused with a trademark, is the same, except it identifies a service instead of a good.
The benefit to registering a trade or servicemark is to prevent the unauthorized use of said mark. A registered mark also gives nationwide constructive notice of the ownership claim over the mark, and allows a registrant to bring an action in federal court to protect said mark. A company also can protect their mark globally by obtaining foreign registration through the use of its U.S.registration.
In order to be eligible to register a mark for goods, the mark must appear on the goods (or container for the goods) and the goods must be sold or transported in commerce. For services, the mark must be used or displayed in the sale or advertising of the service, and the services must be rendered in commerce. Proof is required at the time of filing that the mark is used in connection with the goods and is sold or rendered in commerce.
Applications to register a trade or servicemark can be found on the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) website under Trademark Electronic Application System. It is always important to do a trade or servicemark search before filing an application, as the mark to be registered may already be in use.
The registration process can be tedious and time consuming. If you cannot decide whether to register a trade or servicemark, or need help to file an application, please call The Wright Firm, LLP today as we would be happy to help at 972-353-4600 or visit us on the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com .
Tags: Dallas Business Attorney > Dallas Business Law > Dallas Business Lawyer > service mark > The Wright Firm > Trademark > United States Patent and Trademark Office > USPTO
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