Examples of Trademark Needs in Tampa, 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 Tampa, 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 Citrus 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 Land O’ Lakes and Westchase, like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Lightening. 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.
Top Tips for A Sound Trademark
A trademark is a symbol that identifies one company’s goods from those of another. For example, if someone creates the name ‘Happy Days’ for a nursery school and starts using it for their businesses, the owner of the Happy Days toy store cannot stop them from doing so. A trademark can be any word, phrase, logo, or other symbol that enables companies to have exclusive rights to a specific mark.
Registering a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office can help you prevent others from using it. By registering your trademark in an international class, you’ll notify other businesses that you use this specific mark for your goods and services.
How to Register a Business Trademark (USPTO)
To ensure that you are the only one using your trademark, it is important to trademark it. This means that no one can use your trademark without your consent and if they do, it gives you legal grounds to sue them.
There are two main benefits to federal trademark registration. You can better protect your company from infringers and file for damages in a federal court, rather than just state court.
Registered trademarks have constructive notice that the trademark is registered, and this prevents unintentional infringement.
Choosing Between Doing it Yourself or Hiring a Trademark Attorney
A trademark attorney will help you register your trademark and make sure that it is legally protected. The process can be long, detailed and complicated, but a trademark attorney will guide you through the process from start to finish. They will also complete the application for you and carry out an extensive search for any other similar trademarks that might conflict with yours.
We don’t recommend that you do your trademark application without a professional. There are many automated services online which will walk you through the process and provide you with legal advice, but this is only going to make things worse for you.
We are happy to help you with your application and make sure that we do it right the first time through. If there is already a trademark for your product, we will advise you on what to do next.
What is the Difference Between Trademark and Copyright?
Trademarks allow a company to advertise and protect their products, by showing the customer that the company has ownership over what they are selling.
A copyright is a protection for an author or artist that means no one can use their work without permission. To enforce this, copyrights exist whether registered or not. It’s important to know the difference between trademarks and copyrights so your company’s intellectual property rights are adequately protected.