What will be the name of your product? Choosing a trademark for your product can be more challenging than it seems. You may have already overcome the toughest hurdle of developing the product, so what can be so difficult about creating a name for it? Two key issues tend to come up whenever you try […]
Articles Tagged: trademark registration
Can you register a misspelled trademark?
Can you register a misspelled trademark? Misspelled words can become registered trademarks, but not necessarily because of the misspelling. USPTO trademark examining attorneys will look into phonetic equivalents and the meaning of the term as properly spelled. If the similarly sounding word (as correctly spelled) would raise issues, such as mere descriptiveness or likelihood of […]
What is a generic mark?
What is a generic mark? A generic mark is a word understood by the public as the common term for a product or service. For example, the word “apple” would be generic for the fruit. There is no more common term to refer to the apple fruit than simply “apple.” However, the term “apple” would […]
Can you trademark before launching product?
What comes first: filing trademark or launching product? The US trademark registration system is different from the rest of the world. With a few exceptions, one generally must use the mark in connection with goods or services in US commerce in order to obtain a federal trademark registration from the USPTO. Should business owners first […]
Are many goods or services in a US trademark application OK?
Can you have too many goods or services in a US trademark application? Most foreign countries do not require use of the trademark for registration. So it is common to find a high number of goods or services in Madrid trademark applications that originate outside the US. The lack of a use requirement in foreign […]
What are the new trademark filing rules for 2020?
What are the new USPTO trademark filing rules in 2020? Starting Feb. 15, 2020, certain mandatory requirements for trademark filings will take effect. These changes to trademark filing rules pertain mostly to communications with the USPTO and specimens of use. The new trademark filing rules will require nearly all new trademark applications to be filed […]
What is a trademark audit?
What is a trademark audit? The USPTO has recently started a process to audit the maintenance or renewals of trademark registrations, called the Trademark Post Registration Audit Pilot Program. The purpose of this audit is to check if the owner has continued to use the trademark on the goods or services identified in the registration. […]
Why not register your trademark?
Why not register your trademark? There may be valid reasons for not registering your trademark, but the legal cost should not be one of them. Unlike patent costs which are multiple times higher, the cost to register a trademark for a single class of goods or services is generally affordable, even for an early stage […]
Design patent vs. Trademark: Comparing differences and finding the best IP to protect your products
Design patent protection versus trademark protection Why compare differences between design patents and trademarks? It seems that most folks have some understanding of basic differences between utility patents and trademarks. With design patents and trademarks, the line gets murky since both types of IP are visual. A patented design is meant to be seen. Trademarks, […]
When is the right time to trademark a product or company name?
When is the right time to file a trademark application? Trademarks differ from patents in terms of timing. Unlike patent deadlines, there is no strict due date for filing a trademark application, although there can certainly be negative consequences for waiting too long. Assuming that you do not have enough cash now to apply for […]