You can trademark a person’s name. In fact, you can trademark someone else’s name. But, if you want to register a trademark that includes the name, nickname, portrait, or signature of a living individual, there are a few things you need to know. In additional to the usual filing requirements, you need permission to trademark […]
The trademark process can be very confusing, so it’s no wonder why the USPTO recommends hiring an attorney to file your trademark application. Just check out the chart of the basic process above. To help you figure out the process, we made this handy trademark registration process flowchart, to give you a step-by-step description of the […]
The USPTO has to “registers” for trademarks, the principal register and the supplemental register. Before you can understand these registers, you need to understand trademark “distinctiveness,” that is, how much the trademark relates to the goods and services being sold. The more descriptive the trademark is, the weaker and less valuable it is. Distinctiveness is […]
One of the first questions we get asked about filing a federal trademark application is “how much does it cost?” That leads to every lawyer’s favorite answer: it depends. First of all, it depends on whether or not you hire a trademark lawyer. Hiring a trademark lawyer is always a good idea. Lawyer fees vary […]
You don’t have to register your trademark to have limited trademark protection. But there is another dirty little secret about trademarks: you can apply for a federally registered trademark yourself online, for free, at the USPTO–you only pay the government fees. If you decide not to use a real trademark lawyer to file your application, […]
Here’s a dirty little secret: you don’t need to register your trademark to have limited trademark protection. As soon as you use a trademark in commerce, you have “common law” protection in it. The biggest downside to common law trademarks is that they are limited in geographic scope. You can only enforce it where you […]
The minimum filing requirements for federal trademark applications are deceptively simple. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will grant a filing date to an application that contains all of the following: Let’s take a closer look at the first requirement. 1. The name of the trademark applicant An application to register a trademark must […]
A few months ago you filed your own trademark application, like a boss. Everything was going great until you got a “Courtesy” notice from the USPTO telling you that an “Office Action” has been issued. You clicked on all the links and found that an attorney at the USPTO refused to register your trademark application […]
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