Trademark Law - A Guide To Understanding Trademark Law In The U.s

By Author: Steve Manningham
Total Articles: 4
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A trademark is any word, symbol, design or combination thereof that is intended to identify and distinguish a good or service of one seller or provider from those of another. Trademark law has been implemented to protect a company's brand in hopes of reducing consumer confusion. A trademark signals to the consumer the source of the goods or services from the name or symbol alone. If a mark can immediately signal a specific company to a consumer this will create a connotation that everything with that logo is of similar quality. Trademark law will then help encourage companies that would like to put their brand or logo on all of their products to make sure that they are all of the highest quality. The Lanham Act mainly governs U.S. trademark law, which is a federal law passed by Congress. Additionally, state law or "Common Law" will govern trademark law on a more local level even if you do not register your trademark through the U.S. government. Both registered and unregistered trademarks are granted specific protections with their own advantages and disadvantages, respectively. A trademark has three essential characteristics ...
... that must be met in order to have a valid trademark. The first is that your logo or mark must be distinctive. The second is that your mark must be non-functional or you should be filing for a patent. Lastly, a trademark must be first in commercial use. Those are the essentials of trademark law in the United States, different laws govern international laws and for more information on how to file for an application or if it is necessary. It is very important for a business of any size to protect their business name, logo, any slogans, etc. with a U.S. registered trademark. Although, the trademark search process can be difficult to know for certain if you are in the right to obtain a trademark or you may find that another business already has a similar trademark, working with an experienced trademark attorney to search and secure a trademark is highly suggested. The trademark filing process is not very expensive to protect your brand from trademark infringement by another party. Without registering your trademark, you could be missing out on a lot of business due to confusion by consumers and/or you may fall victim to infringing on another party's trademark, where you may get sued, or have to change the name of your business. This can be a major headache and impede the growth of your business. Hence, getting a trademark to protect your brand as soon as possible, is the best scenario.