Will it cost a lot?
There are many reasons why you should apply for trademark. The USPTO will not register your trademark if the mark is not distinctive and has not acquired distinctiveness. If you don’t get your trademark registered, it will be harder for others to use that same mark in connection with a similar product or service.
If you plan on using a trademark and want to protect it from other parties using it too, then registering with the U.S Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is important because once they have accepted a trademark application from someone who wants their own name on products or services then only those people who file applications before theirs will be able to use that name for themselves; so by doing this first thing – before anyone else does too – helps prevent anyone else from claiming ownership over certain names used by others without seeking permission first!
Is registering a trademark important?
The first thing to know is that registering a trademark is important. You may want to consider doing so if you have plans for marketing or selling products and services that use your chosen mark, or if you’re thinking about opening a business with the same name.
A trademark can be any word, symbol or combination of letters used in connection with goods or services; it doesn’t have to be unique like a copyright (which protects original works of authorship) does. In fact, there is no limit on how many names can be protected under U.S law; however, there are limits on how long they can last for: Trademarks will last 10 years beyond the date of registration under certain conditions (more on this below).
Can’t keep it secret!
Trademark and Copyright Law
Trademark law protects the good will of an entity. It prevents others from using that name to sell products or services. Copyright protects creative works such as books, movies and music. Under both laws you have a right to stop someone else from using your trademark or copyright in a way that might cause confusion with your product/service. For example: You can’t use another company’s famous logo without their permission because they own it!
The USPTO does not make a determination about whether a trademark is distinctive based on their own “special knowledge” of trademark law.
Section: The USPTO examines the mark to determine if it is a generic term.
In order for your mark to be considered non-distinctive, you must show that there are no other terms in the industry with similar meaning or function as yours (in other words, you need to prove that your mark has never been used as a designation for anything else). For example, if someone were trying to register “New York City” as their business name then they would likely fail because there are many other companies register using this common phrase as part of their brand. However if someone tried registering “New York City” under its original spelling (as opposed to being pronounced like “nyoo-kee cee duh”), it could very well pass muster because we don’t say things like “nyoo-kee cee duh.”
A trademark examiner makes a determination based on using the same principles that courts use to determine whether an unregistered mark is distinctive.
In order for a mark to be considered distinctive, it must be “distinctive to the owner’s goods or services.” In other words, if you can’t tell one thing from another, then there’s no way anyone else will be able to tell yours apart from theirs. For example:
- A trademark examiner would likely not allow a company named “Hollywood” because there are too many companies called Hollywood and thus your product would look like every other one out there. While this may seem obvious now (and even then), sometimes it isn’t so easy in practice!
A trademark examination includes:
- The visual and descriptive elements of the mark, including its shape, color, and design.
- The spelling of the word or phrase in question (i.e., “McDonald’s”).
- What it may be used for (i.e., food).
The USPTO examines the mark to determine if it is a generic term. If you have filed your application and paid the filing fee, you can use the Trademark Status & Application Search tool (TSAS) to carry out a USPTO trademark search for existing marks that are similar to your proposed mark. To do this:
- Log into TSAS online by visiting uspto.gov/tsas
- Enter your proposed trademark in one of its fields (e.g., “Brands”) and click Go! or Continue as needed depending on which search type is most appropriate for your situation (e.g., brand name). This will provide a list of all register trademarks with corresponding applications from which you may choose one based upon similarities between them as well as other factors such as how far along they are along their respective processes at this point in time; whether there has been any opposition raised against any particular application; etc…
The USPTO must consider the public’s perception of the mark.
You may have heard that the USPTO must consider the public’s perception of your mark. If you want to register a trademark, you must show that it is not likely to cause confusion with another person’s trademark. The first step in proving this is by showing that there is no likelihood of confusion between your products or services and those of competitors in the marketplace.
The second step is proving “likelihood.” In order for this requirement to be met, you must show that consumers would think an association exists between those parties based on both similarities between their products or services (i.e., what makes them similar) as well as dissimilarities (i.e., what makes them different).
The USPTO must consider whether the marks are confusingly similar.
The USPTO must consider whether the marks are confusingly similar. If a mark is likely to cause consumer confusion, then it may be denied US trademark register. For example, if two marks are substantially identical and one of them is registered, then there will be an issue with using both brands in commerce because consumers might mistake one for another brand. In this case, you would need to file an Opposition based on Relevance: The second mark is not relevant because it will only confuse consumers who already know about your products or services and would believe that they were purchasing from someone else.
