Welcome to Trademark Law Radio sponsored by Traverse Legal, internet law attorney specializing in trademark registration, trademark infringement, trademark protection and trademark monitoring. In this episode, Trademark Attorney Brian A. Hall discusses the benefits of international class trademark registration to cover new goods and services.
(click title to listen)
Attorney Brian A. Hall: Owning a trademark registration is a great start, but it may not be enough, unfortunately. Remember, a trademark registration provides the trademark owner with exclusive rights to use that trademark in connection with the goods or services listed in the trademark registration. Therefore, any goods or services you are offering that are not listed in that trademark registration, or not similar enough to those listed in the trademark registration, may not be something you have protected.
Similarly, should there be areas of your business you’re looking to expand, such as new product line or service line, filings can be made that will provide you with protection even prior to using the mark in connection with those areas. For example, if you sell T-shirts and you are going to be expanding your business into other items such as stickers, mugs or bumper stickers, a new trademark application would be filed to protect those areas. Likewise, if you offer a particular service but intend on offering a new service in the future, it will be absolutely critical to ensure that you could have protection for that service and take the steps necessary to get protection by filing a trademark application.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office encourages new filings to protect the different areas a business is working in. Therefore, you should take advantage of all the benefits associated with a trademark registration by making sure that you are protected. Your trademark rights will ultimately depend on it and the value of your brand will ultimately be reflected in it. Therefore, take the time to review your existing trademark registrations, your existing offerings and your intended offerings, and make sure that the sufficient protections are in place.
Are high school logos automatically protected by trademark laws?
Posted by: Mike Rice | Tuesday, 10 January 2012 at 02:24 PM