Brian Russ Law, Inc. is a United States trademark law office focused on helping companies build and protect their brands. We understand the need to distinguish your brand from your competitors. A small business owner and serial entrepreneur, lawyer Brian gets the worries of small business owners and how securing brand protection is vital when setting your business apart from the competition. Brian works with corporations across the USA work through common trademark 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 Jacksonville, Illinois, then you’ve come to the right place.
“Wait a second,” you may be wondering, “I saw Brian Russ Law, Inc. a California law office? Can they help clients outside of California, like in Jacksonville or Illinois?” Yes! We help customers nationwide with trademark registration support services. The United States Patent Trademark Office allows lawyers licensed anywhere in the US to represent clients in USPTO proceedings. Also learn more at our trademark-specific website at BrianTheTrademarkLawyer.com.
Jacksonville’s Trademark Lawyer
What Is A Trademark Attorney?
Small businesses should spend their time running their business and not getting distracted with the intricacies of trademark law, which should be left to a trademark attorney. Trademark attorneys 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 business, make sure to work with a lawyer who has no problem working in Jacksonville, like Brian Russ Law, Inc.
How Can a Trademark Law Firm Help Your Company?
Protecting brands is a trademark attorney’s primary role. Companies are in the best position to protect their brand if they think about brand protection pre-launch or shortly after their launch. The amount of money companies spend on start-up products and marketing is enormous, and sometimes, they find out that their preferred name can't be used because another competitor has locked up the name. Intellectual property protection is important for startups, especially those that depend on their branding to engage customers. If you want to protect your company name, call us.
What To Look For In a Trademark Attorney
The best way a business owner can protect their name is to take action. 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 world secure trademark protection in the United States. The things you should consider when securing legal support for your trademark is the experience of the attorney, their online reviews, and how personable they are. Your lawyer should be someone you can talk to about your brand. The better the synergy, the better your brand will thrive.
The Top Three Areas Small Businesses Need Trademark Support
1. BUSINESS NAME REGISTRATION
We commonly see business owners think that setting up an LLC or filing a DBA/FBN statement means their brand name is trademarked and safe from litigation. This is not true. Setting up an LLC or a Fictitious Business Name Statement does not equal trademark protection. The Secretary of State and your county recorder don’t cross-reference your business name with the trademark database. So you can get the Secretary of State and county approval to use your business name, but you’re still exposed to potential trademark infringement liability because your name might infringe on someone’s trademark. 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
Brand protection is vital for most small businesses. Imagine this – you start a hot dog restaurant on the main drag of Jacksonville} called “Tommy Tequila’s Good Eats” and you spend decades building your reputation. Your customers know your business and know your brand, but you don’t federally register your brand’s name. Imagine going to Las Vegas and finding a year-old pub with the same name as your business in neon lights. Without federal trademark protection, you are limited when it comes to enforcement and protection, meaning there’s little you could do to stop the Vegas diner from using your name. Another tricky 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 organization prior to you using yours.
3. INFRINGEMENT STRATEGY.
If you have a brand, then you need a plan on what to do if someone infringes your brand. There may be cases where businesses infringe on your trademark without realizing it. Sometimes, having a law firm send a cease-and-desist letter to the infringer will make them stop. If someone is intentionally stealing your trademark identity to make a profit, then you will need to take steps to stop them. A federal lawsuit might be needed to obtain a temporary and permanent injunction to stop the infringer. You can also try to recover damages including lost profits.
Trademark Attorney Brian Russ is Excited to Serve Jacksonville} Businesses
The answer is simple – callconnect with} Brian Russ Law, Inc. today. We’re fielding calls 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.