Starting a business involves compliance with a lot of regulations, laws and rules. Local permits need to be obtained, State permits and registrations besides federal ones need to be attended to and the list would seem endless. So, since all these have to be attended to any way, why not add another important one and register your trademark?
A trademark is classified as an intellectual property. Like any other property, your ownership of it needs to be protected. The best way to do this is to register the trademark as your property. The process takes time and you will need to be patient.
You go into business after a great deal of research and planning on the expectation to succeed. In the process, you will want to safeguard all your rights to the business and part of that will be by registering your trademark in the form of a logo, words or device.
Getting a trademark registered is fairly simple. You can get the necessary application forms from the local office of the USPTO or you can download the same from their website. Submitting the application is also simple. It is the time that it takes for registration after submission that is most annoying and calls for patience.
It isn't a complicated process and the first step is to conduct a thorough search to ensure that there is no other trademark similar to the one you propose to register. It is best that this is left to professionals. The next step is to fill up the application form and submit it at the office of the USPTO or online in their website. At this stage, the USPTO usually assigns an attorney for the application. The attorney will assist you in clarifying all aspects of your application to the USPTO through correspondence. Since the USPTO is a department of the government, some time lag is to be expected.
The USPTO normally takes about two months to acknowledge receipt of your application by sending you a post card. After that, for about six months or more, you can expect them to be totally silent. Then they are likely to send you a communication advising you that your application has been accepted. A month or so after this, they will publish the details and invite objections if any. In the meanwhile, they may even ask you for clarifications. Be prompt in replying to avoid any delay from your side. After this, you will finally get a communication advising you of the registration. The whole process is likely to take about a year or more.
If nothing seems to be happening after you have submitted your application, instead of worrying about the delay, get on with your business and build up the trademark. Delays are standard operating procedures for the USPTO.
While it is not legally binding to register a trademark, those that do, gain a distinct advantage over those that do not. Your right to use the trademark exclusively is given total protection when you register it. No one else can use it and confuse your customers. If some one tries to, you can take legal recourse and protect your rights.
Infringements, accidental or intentional are part of the business scene. If registered trademarks protect your products and services, legal protection is available for you. Using the symbol of the letter R within a circle® establishes your rights in trade circles and throughout the country.
If you are running a business without valid and registered trademarks, do consider the alternative advantage of registering. Get an application form and get on with it.
Patents and Trademarks
When starting a new business, most people thing that its only all about making a business plan and having enough capital for it to work. However, what most people don’t realize is the fact that you will also need a symbol or a logo to represent your company or your products.
Having a trademark means that buyers can identify what product they are purchasing and from what company. For example, when you hear people say Nike, you think of shoes, shirts and sports apparel. You will also think of the Nike trademark, which resembles the "check" sign. Trademark is all about identity and with it, you can mark your products as your own. This is why it is important to have a trademark for your business.
In today's world, there are a lot of businesses opening up , especially in the sports apparel business. You have to consider that many people now prefer sports apparel products because it is stylish and is also very comfortable to wear. Products like rubber shoes and T-shirts are comfortable and can also be very stylish. You can wear them when you want to play or even when you just want to go out and take a walk. In the sports apparel world, you will see that there are quite a lot of companies manufacturing and promoting their product with their very own trademarks.
So, if you plan on opening up your own sports apparel business, manufactured by your company, you should try and think of a trademark symbol that you will use for your products. The trademark symbol will be placed on shirt tabs, or even printed on the shirt if you want. It can also be used in shoes. The trademark symbol is a symbol where consumers can identify your products. They will know who manufactured it and what company designed the product.
However, in the sports apparel business, there are different kinds of trademarks already registered. You have to consider the fact that you need to register the trademark symbol of your company in order to have exclusive use of it and make it illegal for other companies to copy. You have to think of a trademark symbol that is unique from other trademark symbol existing in the world today. Once you thought of a design for your trademark symbol, the next thing you need to do is know how to register it.
The registration for trademark symbol is done in the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the PTO. The PTO is responsible for registering the trademark symbol as well as patenting inventions and copyrighting documents. You have to consider the fact that application for trademark registration can take some time in the PTO. The first step in trademark registration application is to provide all the minimum requirements set by the PTO. After you have completed the minimum requirements and have submitted it to the PTO, you will wait for two months where the PTO will get your trademark symbol examined by their patent and trademark lawyer.
If the trademark symbol is rejected, it is the lawyer's responsibility to contact you by mail and by phone and inform you about the grounds for rejection. The most common grounds for rejection is having a trademark symbol that bears similarity to other trademark symbols that is already registered. There are quite a number for criteria where the lawyer will base upon on getting your trademark registration application approved or rejected.
It is important that you should comply with the rejection notice and overcome all the objections stated by redesigning your trademark symbol. If you don’t comply within six months prior to receiving your rejection letter from the PTO, your trademark registration application will be abandoned and you will be required to start over again.
If you find it difficult for you to register your trademark or if you find it inconvenient, it is recommended that you should hire a trademark attorney. They will guide through the step-by-step process in having your trademark registered. They will also help in preparing the legal documents and requirements associated with the trademark application process.
As you can see, it is important that you should register your trademark symbol in order to have exclusive rights for its use.
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