Protect Your Trademark
Select & Adopt A Strong, Inherently Registrable Trademark
In today’s interconnected world, just registering your trademark with the USPTO may not be enough to ensure protection of your brand. You should consider taking additional steps to ensure your brand’s protection and prevent it from being hijacked by other parties.
The first step is to select and adopt a strong, inherently registrable trademark. This means a mark that is not merely descriptive of your goods or services. You should select, clear, adopt and register a mark that is suggestive, arbitrary or fanciful.
The Uniqueness Of Your Mark Matters
Your mark should not only represent your goods or services but also should be suggestive, arbitrary or fanciful.
Apply For Trademark Registration In China & The EU
Pre-emptively applying for trademark registrations in other countries or regions, particularly in China and the European Union.
China is a first to file jurisdiction, which means that the first entity to file the trademark application has priority of rights. Under a first-to-file regime, the first filed trademark is given full protection under the law and can block subsequent trademarks from registration or use.
Thus, being first to file in China ordinarily gives you the ownership of the mark in China. For this reason, if you anticipate entering the Chinese market within the next few years, you would want to expeditiously file for registration of your TM in China. If you file in China within six months of the date of filing of your U.S. application, your Chinese TM application can be given the benefit of the U.S. filing date.
Filing Dates Matter
If you file in China within six months of the date of filing of your U.S. application, your Chinese TM application can be given the benefit of the U.S. filing date.
Subscribe To Trademark Watch Services
Trademark watching is a critical component of any brand protection strategy.
A trademark watch will afford you the opportunity to oppose infringing trademark applications in the watched jurisdictions.
A comprehensive watch would include not only trademark application filings, but common law watching to alert you of infringement in the marketplace including online.
Domain name watches are also advisable to protect against cyber squatting.
A worldwide watch alerts you to infringing applications in two hundred different countries.
Trademark Watching Options
Trademark watch packages can be tailored to fit your precise trademark watching needs.
USPTO Pending Application Watch
This service watches newly filed applications for federal registration to alert you in the event an application is filed that potentially infringes your mark.
USPTO Official Gazette Watch
This service watches marks published each week in the USPTO’s Official Gazette to alert you in the event a mark is published that potentially infringes your mark.
Combined USPTO Pending Application & Official Gazette Watch
Combines the first two watches listed above.
Common Law Watch
This service watches common law trademark usage, business names and domain names to alert you of common law trademark use that potentially infringes your mark.
Comprehensive U.S. Watch
This service watches USPTO pending applications, marks published in the Official Gazette, state registrations, common law trademarks, business names and domain names to alert you if potential infringing trademark use is occurring, or an application to register a potentially infringing mark has been filed or published for opposition.
Helping Trademark Owners Across The Country Manage Their Trademarks
We have assisted trademark owners in New York, California, Florida, Texas and throughout the United States with their federal trademark matters for many years. We can help you manage your trademark portfolio and enforce your rights if necessary through proceedings at the USPTO and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Learn More
