Brian Russ Law, Inc. is a United States trademark law firm fixated on helping corporations build and protect their brands. We appreciate the need to differentiate your brand from your competitors. A small business owner and serial entrepreneur, lawyer Brian understands the struggles of small business owners and how securing brand protection is critical when setting your business apart from the competition. Brian works with companies throughout the United States work through common brand 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 guidance in Hickory, North Carolina, then you’ve come to the right place.

“Hang on now,” you may be saying, “I heard Brian Russ Law, Inc. a California law practice? Can they help clients outside of California, like in Hickory or North Carolina?” Yes! We help clients anywhere with trademark registration support services. The United States Patent Trademark Office allows attorneys licensed anywhere in the USA to represent clients in USPTO proceedings. Also check out our trademark-specific website at BrianTheTrademarkLawyer.com.

What Is A Trademark Attorney?

A trademark lawyer is a lawyer who specializes in practicing in the field of trademarks. Trademark lawyers typically have experience in the entire trademark lifecycle from the critical clearance search all the way through litigation support. When choosing a lawyer to protect you’re the brand of your corporation, make sure to work with a lawyer who has no problem working in Hickory, like Brian Russ Law, Inc. 

How Can a Trademark Attorney Empower Your Business?

A trademark attorney’s job is to help businesses protect their brands and make sure other people don't infringe on them. Companies are in the best position to protect their brand if they think about brand protection pre-launch or shortly after their launch. Our firm's seen many businesses make the oversight of spending tens of thousands of dollars on merchandise and putting in hours of marketing time only to find out they can't use their preferred logo. Intellectual property is a critical issue for startups, especially when the brand and recognition are primary drivers of revenue from target consumers. Give us a call if you want to lock down your company’s name with federal trademark protection. 

What To Look For In a Trademark Attorney

Doing nothing to protect your name can cause problems for a business entrepreneur. 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. We find the best trademark lawyers are like our firm - experienced in helping businesses of all sizes from across the globe in a variety of industries. When choosing a trademark lawyer, consider their experience and online reviews as well as how personable they are. Your attorney should be someone you can talk to about your brand. The better the synergy, the more your brand will thrive. 

The Top Three Areas Small Businesses Need Trademark Support

1.	BUSINESS NAME REGISTRATION
A lot of entrepreneurs think that setting up an LLC or a DBA/FBN statement means their name is trademarked to protect from litigation. This is not accurate. Setting up an LLC or a Doing Business As 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 government approval to use your name for a business, but those agencies will not detect trademark infringement. As a business owner, you need to hire an attorney to find out if your company name infringes on someone else's trademark. 
2. BRAND PROTECTION
Most small businesses need to protect their brands. Imagine this – you start a hot dog shop on the main drag of Hickory} called “Tommy Tequila’s Good Eats” and you spend years building your reputation. But you don’t take steps to federally register your trademark for “Tommy Tequila’s Good Eats”. Imagine going to Las Vegas and finding a brand new pub with the same name as your business in neon lights. 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 hard 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.
It is important to have a playbook in place in case someone infringes on your brand. There may be cases where businesses infringe on your brand without realizing it. Sometimes, having a law firm send a cease-and-desist letter to the infringer will make them stop. If someone is purposefully You could need to file a federal suit for a temporary and permanent injunction to stop the infringer, plus you can try to recover damages including lost profits. 

Trademark Lawyer Brian Russ is Here to Serve Hickory} Creatives

The answer is straightforward – contactconnect with} Brian Russ Law, Inc. today. We’re fielding calls from potential new clients every day. Having an attorney on your team to protect your name can help you avoid costly mistakes and give you invaluable peace of mind.