Your Trademarks are Valuable Assets and You Should Protect Them
By Bill (William) Honaker
Intellectual Property Attorney/Speaker at IP Guy
October 1, 2024
A client called about a competitor using his trademark without permission. We sent the competitor a formal request to stop.
The competitor responded by requesting “the documents” showing we had a trademark. We have a trademark, but it is not registered and there are no documents. In the U.S., use of your mark creates trademark rights. You don’t have to register it to have rights, but having registration provides many benefits.
One benefit is having the registration certificate. The United States Government issues you a certificate showing your registered mark. In this situation it would have been nice to have it and send it to the competitor.
The competitor thinks we have no rights without “The Document.” She’s wrong, but now it will take further convincing. We may even have to file a lawsuit. This increases the costs to get the matter resolved. A registration certificate would have likely ended the matter.
I’ve written an article on why you should register your trademark. You can read that article here.
Here is a list of the benefits to Federal Registration:
- Your trademark is presumed valid, which gives you an important advantage in court.
- It’s considered valid throughout the United States.
- After five years your mark can become incontestable. Incontestability shields the mark against many challenges.
- You can use the ® which shows the mark is Federally registered. The ® is widely recognized as a symbol of your trademark rights.
- The federal courts have jurisdiction over disputes involving federal registered trademarks.
- Your registration is self-policing. The mark is easy to find when others are considering choosing a mark. It’s on the USPTO website. A quick search will show others to your mark, and they will likely pick something different. Few businesses want to choose a trademark that will get them into litigation.
The Takeaway
The cost to register a trademark is low, especially compared to the value it brings. Don’t forget these valuable assets; get them registered.
About the Author:
Bill Honaker, “The IP Guy” is a former USPTO Examiner, a partner with Dickinson-Wright, and author of the forthcoming book, "Invisible Assets – How to Maximize the Hidden Value in Your Business." Email Bill@IPGuy.com, or call him at 248-433-7381.
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