May 2019 | Trademark Counsel

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Naming

{3:00 minutes to read} There are three typical legal mistakes businesses make when naming their company, a product, or a service offering: 1. The name is already taken. Generally, a name can’t be registered as a trademark if there's an existing registered trademark that is "confusingly similar" to the proposed trademark. Determining the likelihood of confusion involves a multifactor test that takes into consideration such things as: •The visual similarities between the marks; •The similarities between the goods or services being...

Is Your Trademark Client Protected?

By Kelly Weiner

{4:00 minutes to read} Trademark rights are territorial. With a US trademark registration, trademark rights extend nationwide, but a US trademark registration generally will not provide a trademark owner with protection in other countries. There is no worldwide trademark protection. Protecting a worldwide brand can involve a large number of filings in individual countries, which can be extremely expensive. Trademark owners will often focus on core areas of interest. At a minimum, owners will want to file in countries that...

Misleading Trademark Notices

By Kelly Weiner

{3:00 minutes to read} One of the more frequent questions I get from clients is, "Why am I getting this invoice? I thought I already paid you for my trademark." Another potential victim of an increasingly popular scam. When a trademark application is filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the entire application, including the trademark owner's name and address, become publicly available through the USPTO website. Shortly after an application is filed, or shortly before a maintenance...

Month: February 2019