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Easy Protection of Your Marks |
One of the least expensive -- yet most far reaching -- steps your business can take is to register your trademark and service mark with the federal government. For less than $1,000, this registration provides a nationwide blanket of protection for any name or mark that you use, or intend to use, between at least two states.
The federal registration procedure is overseen by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in Washington, D.C., and generally takes between 12 and 14 months.
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Once granted, federal registration affords a substantial package of legal rights and safeguards. Take a look: |
The registrant is permitted to use the well known ®symbol. The owner can stop infringers nationwide and obtain a host of legal remedies including lost profits, attorneys fees and punitive damages. In some cases the infringing goods can be destroyed.
After five years, the registered mark is eligible for "incontestable" status, which means that it is virtually unassailable in court.
Unlike patents, which expire, trademark registrations can be renewed for successive ten-year terms, as long as the mark is still in use. Contrary to popular belief, registering your corporate or fictitious name
with a state office doesn't provide these legal rights. It must be done on the federal level.
Filing Basis
For the purpose of obtaining federal registration, most U.S. applicants base their applications on:
1. Current Use – In this case, you are already using the mark in the ordinary course of business. In other words, you are not simply reserving the right to use the mark in the future.
2. Intent to Use – If you have not yet used the mark, but plan to do so in the future, you can file based on a good faith or bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce. You do not have to use the mark before you file your application.
An "intent to use" application must include a sworn statement that you have a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce. If you file based on intent to use, you must begin actual use of the mark in commerce before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will register the mark. After filing an application, you must later file another form ("Allegation of Use") to establish that use has begun.
Very few legal safeguards provide the level of protection you can get with a federal trademark and service mark registration. It is indeed one of the best legal bargains in America.
(For more information about the registration process, click here to visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site.)
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