Gearhart Law LLC
A trademark is an essential part of your business. It can be a word, logo, phrase, or symbol that represents your company or your products. It protects your company’s intellectual property.
If you’re a small or medium business owner, you’ll want to protect your brand from trademark infringement. Consult a trademark attorney in NJ to discuss how you can protect your brand. Here are 3 things that you need to learn about trademarks.
Trademark Protection Coverage
A trademark protects your products or services from infringement or damage of reputation from another company.However, that brand protectiondependson whether your service mark has been registered or not.
An unregistered trademark is only covered by the common law of trademarkwithin the specific state where the trademark has been created and used. Protection under the common law is quite limited and doesn’t guarantee any security,especially in a legal situation.On the other hand, a registered trademark is protectedby federal law across the whole country.
A Big Difference between (TM) and (R) Symbols
Both (TM) and (R) are symbols used in businesses when it comes to brands and marketing. Both symbolsprotect your intellectual property as they indicate your ownership of your brand, idea, or product. However, they both have different purposes.
The (TM) symbol is used by companies to claim ownership of a specific mark. It’s commonly used when a service mark is unregistered or is in the process of being registered at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
An (R) symbol is used when a trademark is officially registeredat the USPTO. Once your trademark has been registered, no other company can ever use a service mark that is too similar for as long as your registered brand is active.
Availability of Your Trademark
Doing a quick trademark search should be your priority before you choose the service mark for your business. In the same way, you are protected so are other registered trademark holders. Doing your homework will prevent any lawsuits that could stem from your trademark looking too much like someone else’s.
Changing your brand and your business name can be costly, so make sure that your chosen trademark is still available. Safeguarding your brand will help prevent competitors from infringement.When you hire a trademark attorney in NJ, they’ll do all the administrative prep work on your behalf.
