Businesses must protect their service and product brands from those who may seek, intentionally or unknowingly, to trade on the goodwill of those brands.

Choosing and registering a strong trademark is a powerful protective action. As a shield against unauthorized use, a registered mark is among the most valuable assets of an enterprise.

Not all chosen trademarks can be registered.  Some marks are too generic or descriptive of products or services, diminishing the owner’s ability to prevent others from using them.  A trademark attorney can help choose a mark the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is likely to accept for registration.

Once a business succeeds in registering a mark, it must maintain that mark with required filings every few years.

Our firm is available to aid in every aspect of this process.

Take-Aways:  

Use a trademark attorney to choose, register and maintain a strong trademark with the proper, timely USPTO filings.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• The Annals of Trademark Number 3: Selecting a Trademark Part 2 Distinctiveness (November 4, 2014)
• The Annals of Trademark Number 2: Selecting a Mark Part 1 (October 24, 2014)
• The Annals of Trademark Number 1: What is a Trademark? (October 16, 2014)

Helena Kobrin
March 8, 2024