All That You Want To Know About The Federal Trademark Registration In The United States
Filing a trademark registration services application with the United StatesPatent & Trademark Office is an essential step that companies can take in guardingtheir brand and their business. A federally registered trademark bestowsadvantages that offer the trademark owner quite a few distinctive advantages inusing and defending it. Prior to getting into those advantages, let us take afast look at some trademark basics and the context in which we will be talkingabout a registered federal trademark versus other options.
When you file your trademark registration with the U.S.government, you will go through quite a few steps. Essentially, you are 1) ensuringthat your desired trademark is not already in applied for or registered bysomeone else, 2) offering examples of how the mark is being used in commerce,and 3) protecting and policing against any infringements once the mark isregistered. It is a much more intricate process than can be explained in a fewsentences, but those are the fundamentals.
Here’s why federal online trademark registration is beneficial:
- A registration with the USPTO offers legal presumption and the official documentation of national ownership of a trademark. That idea of a trademark as a product that holds value is a vital part of the benefits of registration. A company’s logo and/or brand – the main identifying factor related to its products or services – frequently finishes up attaining a monetary value in and of itself, apart from the actual service or goods that the company offers. When you look at a trademark in that light, with a concrete value assigned to it, the advantage of having a concrete registration and proof of ownership becomes even simpler.
- A state registration covers usage in only that state. Not registering your mark at all also harshly limits the geographic scope of the protection to which you are entitled. Should you choose to develop your business to a larger geographic area – fundamentally an inevitability, particularly when you consider the significance of online commerce – you may run into problems with similar marks potentially pursuing the similar national growth and claims. A federal trademark gives you a stronger case should any such conflicts happen.
- A registered federal trademark offers two advantages of notification that can stop some headaches down the line. After your trademark is registered, it appears on the USPTO’s on-line trademark database, where anyone looking for similar marks will see it. You also offer notice of registration to the public via your own usage of the small circled letter “R” attached to your mark once your filing is done. Both of these official methods of notice offer you the ability to discourage most other individuals and/or companies who are considering using the trademark or anything similar.
