How to Trademark Your Company’s Name, Slogan and Logo to Protect from Theft
By Asites at 28 January, 2009, 12:00 am
One of the most important questions a business owner can ask is, “should I trademark a name?”
Successful business owners are justifiably proud of their company’s name. They’ve often worked long, hard hours and spent a lot of money in order to brand their company’s name, slogan and logo. And now they use them on all their products and signage, and in their advertising and publicity pieces.
And they sometimes lose sleep wondering if someone can come in and steal everything they’ve done right out from under them.
If you want to protect your company’s name, slogan and logo from being stolen and used by someone else you can get that protection when you trademark a name. If you choose not to trademark a name you risk having all the time, money and energy you’ve spent growing your business taken away from you.
A trademark is a symbol, phrase, word, or logo that can identify and distinguish you from any other person or company.
For example, Nike’s “swoosh” logo is a trademark. Only they can use it. Another well known example is the red tab that’s attached to the left rear pocket of every pair of Levi Strauss jeans. And because Levi Strauss jeans trademarked it many years ago, no one else can use it.
Now, if you’re the first to use a name, slogan, or logo, you automatically have trademark rights in the geographic area where you operate. If anybody tries to infringe upon your territory by using or imitating your name, slogan, or logo, you have the right to sue.
However, if you want to protect your trademark rights in a broader area, throughout the entire United States, then you must register and trademark a name at the federal level. And, if you do it all by yourself, there’s a lengthy process you will have to go through.
If you want to trademark a name, most legal representatives recommend that before you attempt to register and trademark it you should conduct a thorough search to make sure that no other similar trademarks exist.
Registering a trademark can be both an expensive and rather intimidating experience, particularly if you attempt to do it by yourself, or even with the help of an attorney.
A full offline search by a professional search firm that includes an attorney’s opinion about your eligibility of registration and any potential for infringement could cost approximately $1,000 (before government fees). And with paperwork going back and forth it’s also very time-consuming.
However, once the process is complete and you own your trademark, it must be renewed every 10 years.
Luckily for business owners who want to save time and money there are online companies that make the process really simple. And their costs are substantially lower than having it done offline.
Such companies can do everything for you from the beginning through the end. They can review your information, do a trademark search, and submit everything for registration to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Because everything is done completely online you will save a lot of time by not having to send your paper work through the Post Office and then wait for it to come back in order to continue the process.
To get the protection you need and to find out more about how you can trademark a name go to http://www.trademarks411.com
Wendy Moyer is a professional writer.
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