Trademarking

Looking to get a logo trademarked. I have just started looking at information. Is it a laborious process? How long does it typically take? Is an attorney necessary?

*patiently waits for Monaco Bodyguards® to arrive*

Romandad is an intellectual property attorney right? He might be able to help.

Looking to get a logo trademarked. I have just started looking at information. Is it a laborious process? How long does it typically take? Is an attorney necessary?

 

I've always done it through my lawyer. I rather be safe then sorry down the road, and to have them do it is fairly inexpensive. Should be no more then a few hours of work.

 

Where you will spend the money is in the research to ensure the name/logo is not infringing on someone else's trademark and then the time discussing the risk involved with your lawyer. Depending on how deep you want to go will depend on how much you spend. Your lawyer will outsource the search to a company that specializes in this type of work (even if you hire a trademark attorney, they do this). The amount you spend will also very on where you want protection e.g. US, EU, S. America, etc.

 

If you have the time and don't mind spending a few hours to a few days on this, research on the USPTO. This will give you a glimpse into the world if anyone else is using your name/logo before spending money on a lawyer http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/

 

I can tell you protecting your mark is incredibly important as branding is such a big part of business today.

 

A good family friend of mine is Senior Counsel of Intellectual Property at Roll global (Fiji Water, Justin Wine, Landmark Wine, Wonderful Halos, POM Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios) and the stories she tells me about other brands trying to rip off their logo and names is crazy. Big and small brands will spend huge money fighting to protect themselves so be careful.

 

If you are in need of a good but reasonable lawyer, shoot me a PM.

 

Agreed with the above.. SO important to lock down a trademark. Didn't know that when I started my last company and it cost me a bunch of money to go back and lock it down in the US and a bunch of other countries. USPTO and Trademarkia are very good resources when trying to figure out if your trademark is in use or not. Trademarkia actually has links back to the USPTO that show correspondence so if you have a mark that shows up as abandoned, denied,etc, you can go through and see what happened. It's also important to know what class you want protection in and search for words that sound the same but are spelled in different ways. Number one reason for rejection I've seen is likelyhood of confusion.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Is it worth it if you don't have the money to be in court defending it?

I just went through this and my total attorney cost was about $1500 and 2-3 months to get the final ok.

This is fantastic! Thanks LF, I might reach out to you shortly.

 

Do you register just the name and then the branding separately? I have a logo that has been designed and I want to protect that as well. I assume it is the same process and the same submission, but I could be wrong.

 

So Bill, you are saying it was about a 2 month process from start to finish (finish being you having the approved and trademarked paperwork back in your hand)?

The last time I trademarked a name, I remember it taking almost a year. That was several years ago, but the process involved a waiting period for objectors or something like that. I think it was $1,500 or so and I used an intellectual law attorney. A logo may be a shorter time period.

This is fantastic! Thanks LF, I might reach out to you shortly.

 

Do you register just the name and then the branding separately? I have a logo that has been designed and I want to protect that as well. I assume it is the same process and the same submission, but I could be wrong.

 

So Bill, you are saying it was about a 2 month process from start to finish (finish being you having the approved and trademarked paperwork back in your hand)?

yes, keep in mind I trademarked a product name (not a logo)

the attorney is in SOFL if you need her contact info.

So I checked out the Trademarkia site and it seems to have, from a cursory inspection, an application process for the naming right. The logo, which I would also want to protect, doesn't seem to be something that they do. I am assuming that attorney might be the easiest way forward as they just know all the ins and outs of the process. Do you have to retain an attorney that is in your state, or is this something that can be done by any referral due to the national nature of the project.

This is fantastic! Thanks LF, I might reach out to you shortly.

 

Do you register just the name and then the branding separately? I have a logo that has been designed and I want to protect that as well. I assume it is the same process and the same submission, but I could be wrong.

 

So Bill, you are saying it was about a 2 month process from start to finish (finish being you having the approved and trademarked paperwork back in your hand)?

 

Sounds good, I've been very happy with my attorney!

 

I personally have always trademarked my name first and later down the road my logo. The reason for this more then anything, I never have my branding ready and want to start the protection process immediately vs. waiting till i figure out what the hell my logo would look like. Further you can always do an amendment to your mark (adding your logo), which is cheap.

 

Submitting your name and logo together depends on the protection you are looking for as well. Does your logo incorporate your name? Or does your logo stand alone with out your name? A great example would be Airbnb's new logo http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=d...4804:6dptij.9.1, they submitted their logo alone as it does not incorporate their name. A few ways for you to slice this pie for sure.

 

So I checked out the Trademarkia site and it seems to have, from a cursory inspection, an application process for the naming right. The logo, which I would also want to protect, doesn't seem to be something that they do. I am assuming that attorney might be the easiest way forward as they just know all the ins and outs of the process. Do you have to retain an attorney that is in your state, or is this something that can be done by any referral due to the national nature of the project.

 

Any attorney in any state can do this for you

 

I always get excited when I trademark something, good luck!

Get a trademark attorney... It's a pain in the ass.

Get a trademark attorney... It's a pain in the ass.

pm sent

pm sent

 

Get a trademark attorney... It's a pain in the ass.

 

Yeah, I pretty much figured. After looking at it, it seems like a process. Bill and LF are offering up some leads on an attorney as well.

 

 

All you guys are awesome, much appreciated!

 

Im currently doing this as we speak for a clothing company Im starting. The logo I'm trademarking cost $775 to trademark and my attorney is doing all the paperwork for free. They said to expect about 3-6 months on approval, just depending. Hope this helps.

 

DEFINITELY get a trademark attorney.

Yeah, I pretty much figured. After looking at it, it seems like a process. Bill and LF are offering up some leads on an attorney as well.

 

 

All you guys are awesome, much appreciated!

 

Responded to PM

Im currently doing this as we speak for a clothing company Im starting. The logo I'm trademarking cost $775 to trademark and my attorney is doing all the paperwork for free. They said to expect about 3-6 months on approval, just depending. Hope this helps.

 

DEFINITELY get a trademark attorney.

 

I'm donning the flame suit as I write this - but what about Legal Zoom?

 

Also, when copyrighting individual products from a company - such as designs - are those easier to file on your own once you have a solid trademark?

Also, when copyrighting individual products from a company - such as designs - are those easier to file on your own once you have a solid trademark?

Copyrights are easy.

Copyrights are easy.

 

So the total Charles Frank comes with trademarked logos/company names? Confusion over what is being offered?