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 a person's name. You must include a written consent to registration of the trademark with your application that is signed by the person that is the subject of the trademark. If the living individual’s a minor, then the appropriate party to sign the written consent [...] Read More

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 process (pro-tip: the step numbers correlate to the numbers in the chart). The Trust Tree® trademark registration process flowchart Step 1.Application filed and assigned a serial number. Step 2.If the minimum filing requirements are met, the application is assigned to an examining attorney. The examining [...] Read More

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 best described on a spectrum as follows: “Generic” marks are merely the common name for the goods or services and cannot receive trademark protection. “Descriptive” marks describe an ingredient, quality, characteristic, function, feature, purpose or use of the specified goods or services. These marks are [...] Read More

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 significantly. Some lawyers charge flat fees. Some charge hourly rates. And within those rates structures, there can often be multiple tiers (e.g., national rates, standard rates, discount rates, etc.). We charge $975 to file an application, but that includes the government fees for one class [...] Read More

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, filing yourself is obviously the best, most cost-effective approach for trademark filing (as opposed to using a non-lawyer trademark filing company). The USPTO, however, warns against not using an attorney. Here are some of the issues with going it alone or using a non-lawyer trademark [...] Read More

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 use it. Of course, the best way to protect your trademark is by registering it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The benefits of owning a federal trademark registration are substantial. 1. USPTO Feedback The USPTO will give you feedback about your [...] Read More

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: The name of the applicant; The name and address for correspondence; A clear drawing of the trademark; A listing of the goods or services; and The filing fee for at least one class of goods or services. Let's take a closer look at the first requirement. 1. The name of the trademark applicant An application to register a trademark must be filed by the owner of the trademark [...] Read More