Brian Russ Law, Inc. is a California trademark legal firm fixated on helping corporations build and protect their brands and their business. We understand the need to distinguish your brand from your competitors. A small business owner and serial entrepreneur, attorney Brian understands the struggles of small business owners and how securing brand protection is vital when setting your business apart from the competition. Brian works with corporations throughout California work through common branding issues like clearance searches, infringement assessment, trademark registration, USPTO office action responses, infringement litigation, use defense, and more. If you’re looking for top-notch trademark legal advice in Hartley, then you’ve come to the right place. You can also visit our trademark-specific website at BrianTheTrademarkLawyer.com.
Hartley’s Trademark Attorney
What Is A Trademark Attorney?
A trademark attorney is a lawyer who specializes in practicing in the field of trademarks. Trademark attorneys can generally do most work on a flat-fee basis and operate independently of the larger firms that bill too much for too little. When choosing a lawyer to protect you’re the brand of your business, make sure to work with a lawyer who has no problem working in Hartley, like Brian Russ Law, Inc.
How Can a Trademark Attorney Help Your Business?
A trademark lawyer's job is to help businesses protect their brands and make sure other people don't infringe on them. Companies are in the strongest position to protect their brand if they think about brand protection pre-launch or shortly after their launch. Our firm's seen many start-ups make the mistake of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on merchandise and putting in hours of marketing time only to find out they can't use their preferred logo or name. Intellectual property is a critical issue for startups, especially when the brand and recognition are primary drivers of revenue from target customers. You can save time and legal costs by calling us to conduct a clearance search prior to launching your brand.
What To Look For In a Trademark Lawyer
The worst thing a business entrepreneur can do to protect their name is to do nothing. Even though it's easy to do some trademark forms on your own, you are at risk of doing something wrong and cleaning up the mess will take 5x the time, money, and effort of doing it right in the first place. A good United States trademark lawyer can help any size company in any industry across the globe secure trademark protection in the United States. The qualities you should consider when securing legal support for your trademark is the experience of the attorney, their online reviews, and how personable they are. To have the best synergy for your brand, it’s important to find an attorney who you feel comfortable talking with.
The Top Three Areas Small Businesses Need Trademark Support
1. BUSINESS NAME REGISTRATION
We commonly see entrepreneurs think that setting up an LLC or registering a DBA/FBN statement means their brand name is trademarked and safe from litigation. This is not correct. Registering an LLC or a Fictitious Business Name Statement does not equal trademark protection. The key problem is that the Secretary of State and your county recorder don’t cross-reference your business name with the trademark database. You can get governmental approvals to use your name for your business, but those governmental agencies don’t check the federal trademark database. It is important for a business owner to retain legal counsel to assess the risks and benefits of using their company's name.
2. BRAND PROTECTION
Brand protection is necessary for most small businesses. Imagine this – you start a taco shop on the main drag of Hartley called “Tommy Tequila’s Good Eats” and you spend years establishing your reputation. But you don’t take steps to federally register your trademark for “Tommy Tequila’s Good Eats”. You happen to go to Vegas for the weekend, and you find a year-old pub with the same exact name as your business. Sadly, your options for enforcement and protection would be limited since you have no federal protection for your brand’s name and the Vegas diner is across state lines. Another difficult scenario is how to deal with a cease-and-desist notice when your brand name is the same as one that was federally registered by another person prior to you using yours.
3. INFRINGEMENT STRATEGY.
Make sure you have a playbook in place to protect your name if someone infringes your brand. There are many situations where someone might accidentally infringe your brand. Sometimes, having a lawyer send a cease-and-desist notice to the infringer will make them stop. If your trademark is being intentionally and maliciously exploited, you need to take appropriate measures to protect your brand. You might need to file a lawsuit for a temporary injunction and/or permanent injunction to stop the infringer. You can try to recover lost profits as well.
Trademary Lawyer Brian Russ is Ready to Serve Hartley Businesses
The answer is straightforward – contactconnect with} Brian Russ Law, Inc. today. We’re fielding inquiries from potential new clients every day. Having an lawyer on your team to protect your name can help you avoid costly mistakes and give you invaluable peace of mind.