Filing a trademark application with the
United States Patent & Trademark Office is an essential step that companies
can take in safeguarding their business and their brand. A federally registered
trademark bestows benefits that offer the trademark owner quite a few distinct
advantages in using and protecting it. Prior to getting into those advantages, it
is important to take a quick look at some trademark basics.
Companies do not shell out money and question
themselves to the trademark request procedure for no cause. Possessing a
federal trademark registration offers a business with quite a few advantages
that can help them legally and competitively.
- In case a rival business utilizes your trade name, there is not much you can do about it. A trade name gifts you only the privileges to utilize the name in documents and as business recognition. You may be able to take action at the state level, but that becomes complex if the competing business comes from a different state. But the federal trademark owners can take legal action in federal court. Preparing in federal court usually means a more sensible procedure than state courts, as a single judge manages the whole case. Obligatory disclosure rules of discovery can also advantage applicants in federal court.
- A registered trademark also enables the trademark owner to get international trademark registrations in overseas countries. Thus, if you want to develop your business past the U.S., it would be much simpler to get trademark protection in foreign countries if you by now own the U.S. trademark rights.
- A federal trademark registration offers the owner with a lawful assumption of ownership. This comprises the special rights to use the mark countrywide on or in connection with the goods and services planned in the registration. In short, this means that you would have the lawful option to stop your competitors from using your trademark. In addition, you can also stop them from using anything that can be considered puzzlingly similar to your mark. With complete legal ownership rights in hand, you can control what gets related with your mark.
- Prior to a firm can apply for a trademark, it should primarily carry out a trademark search utilizing the USPTO database. In case a company wishes to record a trademark that you own already they will see it in a database search. This should save both of you some lawful hassle. As the USPTO database is accessible publicly, companies cannot assert lack of knowledge of your trademark ownership. Again, this can assist save you on the costs of possibly defending your trademark rights against infringers.