Trademarks

 Fees

Federal & Common Law Trademark Search = $950
Federal & Internet Logo Search Add On = $390
Additional Classes Searched = $350 Each

Trademark Application – Business Name or Logo w/one class = $1450
Additional Classes = $490

What is a Trademark?

A Trademark (TM) is any name, slogan or logo that is distinct and identifies the source of your product or service. You can trademark the name of your company, your company’s slogan or logo.

You can claim Trademark rights without registering with the USPTO but common law Trademark rights are more difficult to enforce.

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Why Work with AMC Legal?

 

You will work directly with attorney Allison Cychosz, who has extensive experience in filing and getting trademark approved the first time around.  You will receive a full federal and common law trademark search performed by AMC Legal, not just using a computer search service. You’ll also have an analysis of your mark to determine the best class of goods or services to file under, the most effective description of those goods or services, and an attorney opinion letter going over the search results.  A well done, intensive trademark search can greatly increase the likelihood of getting your mark approved by the USPTO.

Added Value: We charge separately for the Trademark Search and the Trademark Filing, just in case the search is not clear.  We do offer a discount for searching more than one term at once, or if your first mark does not come back cleared for filing and you need to perform a second search.

 

Benefits of a Trademark

 

Trademarking your name, slogan or logo provides you with many benefits and puts you in a better standing to protect that Trademark from being used by someone else. Filing for Trademark protection gives the Trademark owner a nationwide priority to use the TM anywhere in the US. Filing a TM also provides notice to all businesses in the US that you are claiming rights to that name, slogan or logo. Registering a TM allows other businesses to easily search the USPTO data base to see that someone else is using the name and therefore, discourage them from using your TM.

Filing also gives the TM owner the right to sue in federal courts, provides more remedies in the case of TM infringement, gives you the right to use the Registered Trademark symbol and allows you to file the TM in other countries as well.

If you rely on a common law trademark you will not receive any of the benefits of a federal trademark registration. Even if another business is diligent in searching to see if someone else is using the name they want to use, they may not be aware that you are already using the name. Plus you will be in a much better position to prevent someone else from using your Trademark if it is registered.

 

Choosing a Trademark

The more distinctive the Trademark the easier it is to protect. A made up word for a business name such as Kodak or Exxon are the strongest types of names to trademark. The weakest are descriptive names such as Best Plumbing. These types of names must spend years in the market and take on a secondary meaning in order to have protection. Keep this in mind when choosing your company name.

 

 

How to protect a Trademark

 

The best way to protect a Trademark is to first register it with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This will give notice to the whole nation that you are claiming Trademark rights in your name, logo or slogan and it will afford you additional rights that you would not otherwise have.

Even before you are approved by the USPTO you can place the symbol TM after the mark in order to inform the public that you are claiming Trademark rights in the name or symbol. After your application is approved, you can then use the “r” in the circle mark to indicate a Registered Trademark.

 

 

Trademark Searches

 

We highly recommend an extensive Trademark Search before filing the Trademark application. The way Trademark rights work is whoever is the first in time to use the mark has priority over anyone else who comes later to use it. Therefore, while registering the mark with the USPTO is highly beneficial it will not give you priority over anyone else who may have been using the mark before you, but did not register it.

A Trademark Search will not only examine existing Trademarks registered with the USPTO but will also search for any similar marks being used across the nation. This is an exhaustive search of dozens of databases to determine if there are any potential conflicts. This is often called a Common Law Search.

AMC Legal can perform this comprehensive search for you for $500. Though the search cannot guarantee approval, it will give a good indication of the mark’s availability. You will get the results of the Trademark search in writing in approximately 1 week.

Keep in mind, if your mark is rejected by the USPTO, they do not refund the filing fee.

 

How to Apply

 

AMC Legal can prepare and submit your application on your behalf. All you would need to do is answer some questions and provide a sample of your Trademark. A business card, brochure or packaging containing your Trademark would be sufficient for the application.

Once the application is submitted, the USPTO will examine your Trademark to verify that it is unique. Once it passes the examiner, it will need to be published once a week for 4 weeks to provide notice to the public. If no one contends the mark, then your mark will be approved.

If the application is denied, the determination may be appealed. There is no refund of the application fee if this occurs. That is why it is a good idea to do an extensive Trademark search before filing the application.

Renewal & Maintenance

 

Trademark rights are granted upon use. Therefore it is easiest to register a mark that is already being used. Use can simply mean handing out brochure or business cards or using the mark on packaging for your products. Once registered, you must continue to use the mark or you risk losing any Trademark protection the mark has.

5 years from registration you must submit an affidavit of continued use. 10 years after you must file to renew the mark.

You must also be vigilant in checking to see if anyone else is using your mark and prevent them from doing so. If you see someone using your mark and you allow them to continue using it you may be waiving your rights to stop them at a later time.

Conclusion

If you have any interest whatsoever in protecting your business’s name, logo or slogan you should seriously consider registering it with the USPTO. Registration affords you more rights for protecting the mark, it prevents others from affecting your good name and reputation and it creates an identity for your customers to recognize your business. Let AMC Legal help you protect your business’s reputation. Please call if you have any questions.