Brian Russ Law, Inc. provides trademark registration services for clients in all 50 states, including Florida.
Why You Should Trademark Your Business
Regardless of a company’s trademark, it may not have exclusive rights to ownership. This is because someone else could use the same or similar mark for their own products. For example, if someone were to create the name ‘Happy Days’ for a nursery school, then start using it for their businesses, the owner of the Happy Days toy store couldn’t stop them from doing so because they don’t have a commercial-use trademark.
It is important to preemptively register a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office because it can protect the mark across all products. The benefit of registering a trademark early on is that it can help prevent your brand or business from completely losing its protection in case another company receives legal protection before you do.
Benefits of Registering a Federal Trademark
Trademarks act like a brand. They help to identify goods and services that come from a specific company by making it easier to file lawsuits on their behalf.
A federal trademark registration is important for two reasons. First, it’s easier to win a case against infringers if you have federal trademarks instead of only state trademarks (or just common law trademarks). Second, you can sue for damages in federal court, which means you will receive additional damages as well as increased remedies.
You can also use trademarks with specificity to avoid accidental infringement. By searching the USPTO Principal Register, users of marks inherently have constructive notice that they are infringing on your rights and should respect these rights. Searching the Principal Register prevents unintentional infringement, which still carries potent legal penalties.
How to Trademark and Avoid DIY
There are many stages to the process of trademarking a product including formulating an application, conducting searches and editing your product. A Trademark Attorney can complete these with you and make sure your brand is protected from other companies.
We almost always recommend against our clients trying to secure a trademark on their own. There are many, many automated online services that walk folks through the trademark application process without the advice of legal counsel. These services are bad and often send business our way to fix mistakes.
We pride ourselves on not making a mess and supporting clients in the right direction. Contact our office to find out how best to position your.
Registration is not always necessary. If you’re already planning to trademark your company’s name or logo, you may want to refrain from applying for an official registration if the name is already being used by somebody else.
What are Trademark and Copyright
Trademarking is used to protect a company’s identity. It’s used to show the customer that this company has ownership over what they’re selling. Trademarks are also mainly used for advertising purposes. So, a person will know who to go to if they want that specific product.
Copyright law protects an author’s or artist’s intellectual property rights. This prevents anyone from using their work without permission. Those rights still fall under copyright even if you don’t register the work with a US Copyright Office or with other countries where this is applicable. It’s important to note that trademarks are not intellectually owned, but they protect a certain company’s right to exclusive ownership of the brand name.
Examples of Trademark Needs in Palm Bay, Florida
A lot of people ask us, “Why do I need a trademark for my business?” And the simple answer to that is your businesses name, logo, and branding are inherently valuable. You want to ensure that you’ve protected your business as your brand’s value grows and continues to appreciate over time. For example, if you’re in Malabar, or driving on Interstate 95, you’ve probably seen tons of billboards for corporations and mom-and-pop shops alike. And they’ve all got a certain feel to them, their branding. And that branding is valuable. You want to make sure that if you start a shop in Palm Bay, that somebody two states over isn’t going to steal your idea and name and do the same business.