Protect Your Brand Through Trademark Laws

Branding can be expensive, as it requires significant resources to create and promote a recognizable and trustworthy brand. One way to protect this investment is through trademark laws. Trademarks are used to protect brands from copycats trying to infringe your products or services for their own profit. This article explains our experience in applying trademark law protection to protect corporate brands in a cost-effective manner.

Branding is a big investment for startups

Branding can be expensive, as it requires significant resources to create and promote a recognizable and trustworthy brand. One way to protect this investment is through trademark laws. A trademark registration can provide a legal basis for a company to take action against any company that uses a similar or identical mark that may cause confusion among consumers, dilute the distinctiveness of the registered mark, or cause unfair competition. Here are a few ways that trademark laws can help protect a business’s branding investments:

1. Exclusive rights: A registered trademark gives a business exclusive rights to use the mark in connection with the goods and services it offers. This can help the business protect its brand from infringement by competitors.
2. Legal protection: A registered trademark provides a legal basis for the business to take action against companies that are using trademarks that are similar to its own. This can include sending cease and desist letters, filing lawsuits, and working with the appropriate government agencies to take action against infringing parties.
3. Preventing dilution: Trademark laws can also help prevent dilution of a company’s brand by taking action against companies that are using similar or identical marks in a way that diminishes the distinctiveness of the registered mark.
4. Infringement monitoring: Trademark laws can help a business monitor for infringement and take action to protect its rights. This can include conducting regular trademark searches, monitoring social media, and keeping track of competitors

Overview of the Trademark process

The brand name selection and trademark process is a key step in creating a new brand and protecting it legally. Here are the general steps that a business might take when selecting and registering a brand name:

1. Conduct a trademark search: Before selecting a brand name, it is important to conduct a thorough trademark search to ensure that the proposed name is available and not already in use by another company. This can be done by searching the USPTO’s database or by hiring a trademark attorney to conduct a comprehensive search.
2. Evaluate the proposed brand name: Once a name is selected, it should be evaluated to ensure that it is legally available and not likely to be confused with existing trademarks. This can include checking for similar names in the same industry, as well as any potential issues with the name’s meaning, connotations, or translation.
3. File a trademark application: If the proposed brand name is available and not likely to be confused with existing trademarks, the business can file a trademark application with the USPTO. The application should include the proposed brand name, a description of the goods or services the brand name will be used in connection with, and any relevant specimens or logos.
4. Wait for the application to be processed: Once the application is filed, the USPTO will review it and may request additional information or clarification. Once the application is approved, it will be published for opposition, which is a period of time where other parties can object to the registration of the trademark.
5. Respond to any objections: If there are any objections to the registration, the business will have the opportunity to respond to them. If the objections are overcome, the trademark registration will be granted.
6. Renewal: After the registration is granted, the business should renew the trademark registration at regular intervals.

Overall, the brand name selection and trademark process can be a complex and time-consuming task, but it is important for a business to ensure that it has the legal rights to use its brand name and to protect it from infringement. It’s recommendable to hire a trademark attorney to help with the process, specially with the search and the application.

Trademark Strength

Trademark strength refers to the level of legal protection that a trademark has and its ability to distinguish a company’s goods or services from those of others. A strong trademark is one that is distinctive, memorable, and easy to recognize. A strong trademark is also legally protectable, meaning that it can be registered and enforced against infringement.

Here are a few factors that can impact a trademark’s strength:

1. Distinctiveness: A distinctive trademark is one that is unique and not likely to be confused with other trademarks. A distinctive trademark is more likely to be considered strong and more easily protected by the law.
2. Genericness: A trademark that is too similar to a common or generic term is less likely to be considered strong and may not be protectable.
3. Secondary meaning: A trademark that has acquired secondary meaning, which means that it has become a distinctive identifier of the source of the goods or services, is considered stronger than a trademark that is not yet known by the public.
4. Use in commerce: A trademark that has been used in commerce and has acquired a reputation is considered stronger than one that has not yet been used.
5. Government registration: A trademark that has been registered with the appropriate government agency, such as the USPTO, is considered stronger than one that has not been registered.
6. Length of use: A trademark that has been used for a longer period of time is considered stronger than one that has been used for a shorter period of time.

Overall, the strength of a trademark can impact its ability to be registered and enforced against infringement, and a strong trademark is considered to be distinctive, memorable, and easy to recognize. It’s considered legally protectable, has secondary meaning, has been used in commerce, is registered with the government and has been used for a long period of time.

Choose a strong brand name

Next in the process is the selection of a strong brand name. You may want to select a few candidates to do A/B testing on the selected brand names. Many entrepreneurs might have chosen the perfect brand name and cannot imagine using any other. Your first choice might not be the best choice. A prudent entrepreneur will always plan for contingencies.

In selecting brand name candidates, the trademark spectrum of distinctiveness is a way to categorize trademarks based on how distinctive they are, which will impact the level of legal protection they will receive. Fanciful and arbitrary trademarks are considered highly distinctive and given the strongest level of protection, while descriptive trademarks are considered less distinctive and given a low level of protection, but they can acquire secondary meaning and become protectable.

The trademark spectrum of distinctiveness is a way of categorizing trademarks based on how distinctive they are. Trademarks are generally categorized into four categories, which are:

1. Fanciful: These are trademarks that are made-up words or invented names, such as “Kodak” or “Xerox”. These trademarks are considered highly distinctive and are given the strongest level of protection by the law.
2. Arbitrary: These are trademarks that are existing words, but are used in an arbitrary or unexpected way, such as “Apple” for computers or “BlackBerry” for mobile phones. These trademarks are considered distinctive and are given a high level of protection by the law.
3. Suggestive: These are trademarks that suggest something about the goods or services they are used in connection with, but do not describe them directly, such as “Coppertone” for sun tan lotion. These trademarks are considered distinctive and are given a moderate level of protection by the law.
4. Descriptive: These are trademarks that describe the goods or services they are used in connection with, such as “ComputerWorks” for computer repair services. These trademarks are not considered distinctive and are given a low level of protection by the law. They can only be protected if they acquire secondary meaning.

It’s important to note that the distinctiveness of a trademark can change over time and that a trademark that is considered descriptive at the time of registration may acquire secondary meaning and become protectable.

To ensure that your desired brand name isn’t being used by other businesses, the first step to executing a trademark strategy is to search the market. You can conduct a Google search or search the public database for the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Our blog post How to Conduct a Trademark Search is also available.

These searches can be quick and cheap, but they may not cover marks that the USPTO examiner may find confusingly similar to your brand name. This could lead to the rejection of your trademark application. A skilled trademark law attorney can conduct a thorough search to determine the risks associated with trying to register your preferred brand name federally. This search could include a risk assessment of all marks found in a common, state, or federal search.

This is a critical step in the initial stages of building your brand. It allows you to modify your preferred brand name, if it’s being used by another company. You should not wait until your brand is established to avoid costly problems in the future.

The Trademark Process

It doesn’t have to be expensive to trademark something. The United States considers the person who establishes priority over a mark the owner. To put it another way, if your company is the first to use a unique trademark to identify its products or services, then you don’t have to register your mark in order to obtain rights. However, you must add the trademark symbol, TM to the mark that you are claiming rights. However, it is not a substitute for registering a trademark through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This establishes ownership beyond any doubt.

All of this depends on the “uniqueness” of your mark. Start your trademark search online. You can visit free websites that offer trademark law information, such as those held by the USPTO, Secretaries of State, or Yellow Pages online. You can also search online for trademarks, but this will cost you a fee. For more detailed searches, including misspellings or alternate spellings, you can hire an attorney or private company. An attorney who is a specialist in intellectual Property law is best.

Trademarks may be registered at either the federal or state level. State registrations can be more expensive but offer less protection. Trademarks can be registered in one industry but could also be registered in another. The best choice depends on the location of your business and the scope of your operations. International protection can be more expensive and more difficult. It is also very difficult and costly to enforce.

You can file a trademark application at USPTO to ensure that no trademark similar to yours is already in existence. This process can take several months. This can take months.

Enforcement and Policing of Federally Registered Trademarks

After your federal trademark registration is granted, you can begin to implement your trademark strategy by policing your rights. You, the trademark owner are responsible for policing the market to make sure that your trademark is not being infringed by other businesses.

You can do this in many ways. One way is to conduct a Google search of your trademark that targets your market. Another way is to rely on an experienced trademark attorney for monitoring the USPTO trademark databases.

These strategies are often combined by trademark owners to ensure that they have a comprehensive approach to policing the mark. Neglecting to monitor your mark carefully can cause irreparable damage to your trademark. You could be affected by poor quality or services provided by a competitor with a similar name. Each third-party that uses a similar trademark to yours reduces your trademark’s strength, which can lead to a reduction in your brand’s protection and in some cases, limit your exclusive rights.

How Registered Trademarks Can Protect Your Brand

 The United States Patent and Trademark Office enables people to register their trademarks and also ensures that others don’t take their choice of a trademark or if yours is similar to another already registered trademark. 

Trademark law is prepared to prevent unfair competition in the marketplace by protecting the exclusive use of a logo, phrase, symbol, name, design, etc., that distinctly identifies the products or services of an enterprise.

The protection of trademarks extends to all words, slogans, designs, and signs and can be enforced through lawsuits under the Trademark infringement laws.

Each nation has its own trademark procedures, but the basic components of protection include registration of the trademark with the appropriate country’s intellectual property office, a covering letter explaining the name, address, and description of the product or service, the registrant’s signature, and a record of filed claims and counter-claims.

USPTO works under the Uniform Commercial Code in order to define the trademark classes of protected names and symbols used in connection with the sale of products or in the marketing of services.

In addition, there are some other common examples of signs and symbols used to identify products and services: trade lines, brand names, product or service names, and slogans. To protect these types of intangible assets, it is necessary for trademark owners to file the application for a trademark with the appropriate United States Trademark Office and to register the mark.

Now over to you

Since intellectual properties are such an important asset in your business matters, it is crucial to find the best establishment on the market to assist you in your intellectual property needs.

A prime example can be PatentPC a full service Intellectual Property Law Firm that deals with all matters regarding intellectual property, including patents, trade secrets, copyright cases, and trademarks, specifically specializing in obtaining trademarks and patents for its clients.

Moreover, the team working behind PatentPC includes highly qualified IP lawyers who have kept themselves knowledgeable on every intellectual property aspect and are also diligent in practicing new updates on intellectual property upgrades according to AI advancements.

They understand the need of implementing startups with intellectual property tactics and have hence, created a number of ways to help these new businesses prosper without having to compromise on the safety of their service or products.