TRAVERSE CITY – Clients often want to know how to trademark a name and, inevitably, the next question that follows is, “Why should I use an attorney to file my trademark registration?”
Trademark Registration in the Internet age is important because infringement of a trademarked name can spread quickly throughout various online technologies and channels. Similarly, trademark registration with an attorney is important because a trademark attorney is best tasked to provide you with a comprehensive trademark search, monitor the use of your registered trademark across the Internet and advise you on how and when you should pursue trademark infringement issues.
While some clients use less expensive form services, such as LegalZoom, to apply for trademark registration, clients often do not understand the risks in doing so. These risks include the outright denial of your application, the issuance of an Office Action by the examining attorney, a trademark opposition, or, in the worst-case scenario, a costly trademark infringement lawsuit. All of these risks can be easily mitigated on the front-end by hiring a licensed trademark registration lawyer.
If you want to know exactly how to Trademark a name, you should first consult with an attorney who will perform a trademark search to determine availability. If your proposed name is not available, the attorney will advise you to choose another name so as to avoid the risks of a potential trademark infringement lawsuit or trademark opposition. This is especially important in the Internet age because trademark registration is national in scope. If a third party in another country already has a trademark that is similar to yours and is using that trademark on the Internet, your use of that mark could subject you to an arbitration proceeding under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy or a trademark infringement threat letter.
Once your trademark registration is granted, you will be entitled several rights. The most important of those rights is the ability to receive statutory damages?that is, damages that are presumed, and do not need to be proven in court, of up to $2 million for the use of a counterfeit trademark. Additionally, your trademark registration will be listed within the US Patent and Trademark Office?s database, which puts others on notice of your rights. Finally, registered trademark holders are granted use of the ?, putting others on notice of your registered trademark and preventing against the defense of innocent infringement in a trademark infringement lawsuit.
Additionally, a trademark attorney will help you monitor uses of your trademark on the Internet and keep you informed of any infringements that occur on Facebook or Twitter, and in domain names, meta tags, and search engine keywords. Since Internet business models rely heavily on advertising and search traffic, trademark infringement is highly prevalent on the Internet, and could potentially reduce your revenues or steal valuable traffic. Additionally, cybersquatters or typosquatters may register domain names that contain your trademark, or a confusingly similar term, to siphon off your web traffic and take advantage of your good name, reputation and valuable goodwill. A registered trademark provides you with the strongest protection in this situation, and it will often act as Exhibit A in an arbitration proceeding under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy or a lawsuit under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.
In light of these threats and a trademark attorney?s ability to reduce them, it is important that you retain a licensed trademark attorney to handle your trademark registration if you have questions on how to trademark a name.
This column was written by Attorney John Di Giacomo at Traverse Legal. For more information, click on TraverseLegal.Com
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