Practice Areas - patent prosecution, trademark and copyright registration, trade secret, internet domain names, licensing, intellectual property disputes
Trademark Registration
Your name and reputation are often critical elements of your customer's choice of your products and services over those of your competition. Without proper protection, these important assets can be taken advantage of by competitors who did not spend the time, energy, and resources that you spent in developing your reputation. It is therefore critical to consult with a trademark attorney so that proper protection for your name and trademarks can be obtained.
Trademark Search
Once you have made an initial decision on a trademark, a prompt investigation should be made to ensure that it is not confusingly similar to anyone else's trademark. This trademark search will not only ensure that your mark does not result in liability for trademark infringement, but will also ensure that funds expended in applying for trademark registration and in preparing advertising materials utilizing the trademark are not wasted. The search will include not only identical marks, but all possible variations of the mark in order to identify any possible confusingly similar marks. The search will not only include federal and state trademark registrations, but will also include numerous other sources to identify common law trademark rights.
Trademark Application
Once the investigation is complete and a decision to utilize the trademark is made, an application to register the mark should be made. In general, a federal trademark application should be filed, because if this application is granted, the trademark owner will have a presumption of the exclusive right to use the trademark throughout the United States. However, in certain situations, such as the existence of common law trademark rights in other states, a state trademark application may be appropriate. It is wise to file the trademark registration application as soon as possible after investigation reveals that the trademark may be registered, to prevent the possibility of others utilizing the trademark and thereby acquiring rights to the trademark.
Trade Dress
Trade dress protection is similar to trademark protection, but protects the commercial appearance of a product or service, when this appearance is used as an identifier of a source of goods or services, from confusingly similar appearances by competing products or services. In the case of products, trade dress protection is similar to the protection offered by design patents, providing protection from confusingly similar product design and appearance. Depending on whether a product is new to the marketplace or has a well-established reputation, either design patent protection or trade dress protection may be appropriate. The appropriate form of protection should be evaluated by an attorney on a case by case basis.
My experience includes advising clients in the initial selection of trademarks, preparing registrability and right-to-use opinions, prosecuting applications for trademark registration before the US Patent and Trademark Office, and litigating trademark infringement cases.
To maximize the value of my services to my clients, all projects receive my personal attention. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your trademark registration questions and needs.