How Can a Trademark Lawyer Assist You in Protecting Your Brand?

In the current business world, building a strong brand is essential if you want to keep a competitive edge. Your company’s name, slogan, or logo are keys to instantly creating customer confidence. 

Big business names are classic examples of this instance, like Gucci, Samsung, and Apple. You know it’s high-end and high-quality fashion if it’s Gucci or Louis Vuitton. When it comes to devices, Apple is known for its security and user-friendliness.

Hence, protecting your brand is important but creating and registering a trademark can be daunting at first. Aside from researching whether your desired trademark is available, legal procedures follow. But don’t worry, because that’s what trademark lawyers specialize in! They can help you with the research and guide you through the ropes.

This article will discuss in-depth who a trademark lawyer is and what it is that they do. We’ll also talk about how trademark law works and how it protects your brand.

Who Is a Trademark Lawyer?

This is a professional who specializes in trademark law and protecting  trademarks. They make sure no other company or individual uses one similar to that of their client. It may sound simple, 

But it’s more elaborate than one thinks and has minute details that only a professional trademark lawyer would understand. 

That said, they’ll ensure that establishing your trademark will be a smooth process with no future repercussions. If disputes do arise in the future, they’re responsible for representing your business in court. For example, if you’re suing or being sued for copyright or trademark infringement, your trademark lawyer should be there. 

Every business, big or small, can benefit from the advice and services of a trademark lawyer. However, small businesses may have difficulties hiring an in-house lawyer. 

Meanwhile, big businesses need these lawyers to protect their brand’s identity and reputation. For example, they can consult a lawyer for any unauthorized use of their brand.

How Does Trademark Law Work and How Does It Protect You?

1. Confirm Whether Your Mark/Logo Is Available or Not

This step can be accomplished by yourself by doing sufficient research online. We will also outline what you need to do below. However, if you need to know whether you can use a certain trademark, consulting a trademark lawyer is recommended.

When you think of a unique idea for your brand name or product, you should see if it has already been registered. You can access your competitive analysis to check if any of your competitors are using that name. Your country’s government usually has an online database they maintain for it so you can start locally.

Once you start searching for the trademarked term, we recommend using quotation marks. This will ensure that you get an exact match in the results to avoid wading through unrelated results. 

However, keep in mind that if your trademark terms show up, they’re not automatically off the table. In the US, it’s possible to challenge its registration if the trademark isn’t being used. 

A trademark lawyer can help you claim the name for your business instead. In the same way, you need to use the trademark to enjoy the benefit of the trademark law. Otherwise, your unused trademark may be challenged and used by someone else.

Aside from search engines, social media is another wonderful option when looking for trademark terms in use. You’ll find any activity using the trademark that you’re considering for your business.

2. Think About Registering Your Trademark

Once you’ve chosen a trademark, you’re ready to officially register it. For this process, we highly advise contacting a trademark law firm so someone can give you legal advice.

While the internet is useful in many ways, an expert in the field is still a better choice. They can give you pieces of advice that are specific to your business. The entire process of registering your mark can be technical and involved. Hence, having a professional will help ensure that your choice is up to par and won’t have future repercussions.

Keep in mind that trademark application fees aren’t cheap, ranging from $225 to $400. That’s why despite the price of hiring a trademark lawyer, it’s a better investment than failing the application all together. 

Once the USPTO receives your application, it will take about 3 months before an Examining Attorney gets it. After this, the attorney may issue an Office Action to notify you of any errors. That’s when you’ll find out if your application was rejected and why.

If there’s no opposition to your application, the USPTO will register your mark after 11 weeks. In total, it will take about 9 months for your mark to proceed to registration if it goes smoothly. 

However, if your registration was opposed, you need to contact a trademark lawyer. Otherwise, you risk being rejected by the USPTO and possibly losing $400.

3. Monitor and Enforce Your Trademark

The trademark law does protect your intellectual property while you run your business. However, the law isn’t a silver bullet so you still need to be vigilant in case of infringement. 

Your trademarks are a form of protection for all the hard work you’ve put into building the brand. Once your registration is complete, start using ® which is the registered trademark symbol. 

But you need to understand that the USPTO doesn’t actively enforce your trademark. That’s something you need to work on, including monitoring USPTO filings. You’ll need to oppose any applications that want to register trademarks similar to yours. 

If a company is using a logo or name similar to your registered trademark, you need to be assertive. For example, you can send them a “cease and desist” letter, and that’s usually enough. If they don’t listen to you, you can call your trademark lawyer and file a lawsuit.

Conclusion

A trademark is a vital part of a business because it gives them an identity that clients always think of. It’s a major part of your intellectual property that you’ve built from the ground up. 

That’s why no one takes it kindly when someone tries to steal or register a trademark similar to theirs. It can become a case of trademark infringement and that will undoubtedly be messy. 

That’s why hiring a trademark lawyer when you’re about to register a trademark is recommended. Before registering your chosen mark, you need to do research with or without your lawyer. Find out whether the mark you intend to use is or isn’t active with any business. 

That way, even if it was once used by them, you can oppose their claim to the trademark. Your lawyer can help you throughout the registration process as well to ensure it goes smoothly. If there are any objections, your lawyer can help protect your brand as they are experts in the field.