Examples of Trademark Needs in St. Petersburg, 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 St Petersburg, or driving on Interstate 275, 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 Historic Roser Park, that somebody two states over isn’t going to steal your idea and name and do the same business.
A great example I love to use is professional sports teams. Their need to have a protected brand name, logo, slogan, and such is invaluable because so much of their team’s value is wrapped up in their identity. There are lots of sports teams, but for fans, there’s always ‘my team’. Think about the teams near Historic Kenwood and Boca Ciega, like the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the St. Petersburg Kickers. You can probably picture their logo in your mind, and you know that nobody else is using their names and logos to promote a professional sports team.
Why Trademarks are Important
A trademark is a word, phrase, logo, or other symbol that distinguishes one company’s goods from those of another. If a business does not have a trademark that is used in commerce and goes to start using it for its businesses, the owner of the Happy Days toy store cannot stop them.
In order to protect your trademark, you would need to register it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Doing so generally protects your trademark across the entire United States in a specific international class, related goods and services. And it lets other people know that you’re using the mark by doing so.
Trademark Attorney in St. Petersburg, FL
Trademarks help you identify a product before somebody else does. Trademarking is important, because if someone is using your trademark without your permission, you can file a lawsuit against them.
As an olive oil producer, you need to register your trademark as a federal trademark in order to protect yourself against infringers and file suit in a federal court.
By registering your trademark on the USPTO Principal Register, you are informing others of the existence of your trademark. A lot is expected of users who use marks. It is necessary that they search the Principal Register to avoid unauthorized use. No matter the intentionality, infringing on a registered trademark is still actionable infringement.
The Advantages of Hiring a Trademark Attorney Instead of Doing It Yourself
To protect your trademark, a trademark attorney can help ensure you didn’t miss anything in the application and search for anything similar.
We recommend against our clients doing trademark paperwork on their own, because it can be a difficult process. Lawyers like the services too, since the automated process leads more people to them for help.
We make sure not to create a mess for you or have you apply for something when it isn’t necessary. Reach out to us first and we can advise on the best way to approach your situation.
Get a Trademark Attorney for Your Business
The purpose of trademarking is to identify a product as one that belongs to a specific company, which usually means the company’s name. Brand names are also used for advertising purposes, so customers know where they can go if they want things from your company.
Intellectual property rights protect your creations such as artwork and inventions, but it’s not always easy to distinguish between copyrights and trademarks. A copyright is a protection for an author or artist, which means no one can use their work without permission, but the creator still owns it. A trademark means the company has control over the brand and product, but a copyright means the person who created the work has ownership.