Trademark Attorney, Lawyer: Trademark Registration & Trademark Infringement

The IP Audit - Newsletter Update

The IP Audit

We are now a month or so into 2015, and as we normally do, we are completing several Intellectual Property Audits on behalf of clients, big and small.  As we do so, we always wonder why all businesses do not have an IP Audit completed, especially when embarking on a new year with new opportunities.  It is the perfect time to take inventory of your trademarks, copyrights, patents, domain names and trade secrets.  It also gives us the opportunity to educate you about what you have and what you should have; what you are doing and what you should be doing.

If you are wondering if an IP Audit even applies to you, the answer is a resounding yes.  How can you leverage and monetize what you have created when you do not even know what you truly have?  How can you protect against infringers and cybersquatters, and even unlawful competitors, when you aren't monitoring what is rightfully yours?  Do you really want to wait until a prospective purchaser of your business is performing due diligence to learn that you have failed to take the necessary steps to acquire, maintain and enforce your IP, and possibly lose the deal?

Let Traverse Legal's experienced IP attorneys and leveraged software tools provide you with an efficient and cost-effective IP Audit.  Once complete, you can rest easy knowing that all of your IP is:

1. Identified;
2. Applied for and/or registered in the United States and/or internationally;
3. Docketed for maintenance and renewal;
4. Monitored to identify infringers; and
5. Treated like the valuable asset it is, with proper licensing or other treatment.

Give us a call today at 866-936-7447 or email us directly to discuss your IP Audit. 

 

Ownership of a Trademark

who actually owns a trademark really depends on what entity was the first to make use of a distinctive mark in commerce. It is that entity that has ownership of the trademark. And that is under common law because common law recognizes that the first to make use of a distinctive trademark, and distinctive means that it’s arbitrary or fanciful or suggestive, not merely descriptive or generic. The owner of a distinctive mark is the one that first uses it in interstate commerce.

Play: Ownership of a Trademark
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With: Brian A. Hall

Sponsored by: Traverse Trademark Law

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How to Use and Display Your Registered Trademark

...you should use the registered ® symbol every time you use your particular mark. Obviously, this would pertain to written materials only since when you're talking about your mark and using it in an oral sense; you cannot identify it as such. Regardless, use of the registered ® symbol should be consistent across all of your advertising and usage materials. Besides using the registered ® symbol, you also want to be consistent in your usage of your registered trademark...

What is a Non-Traditional Trademark?

Welcome to Trademark Law Radio, a top web resource on issues of trademark infringement, trademark licensing, trademark protection, and trademark registration.

This is Brian Hall, a trademark attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC; a law firm representing trademark applicants throughout the United States.  Today, I will be answering the question: What is a non-traditional trademark?  And before I get into a non-traditional trademark, let’s remind everyone what a regular or traditional trademark is.  A trademark is essentially any type of word, image, symbol or other indicator used to identify the source of goods or services.  It is required to be distinctive and used in interstate commerce in order to be protected in the United States.  While someone can apply a trademark registration with the USPTO or United States Patent and Trademark Office, it’s not absolutely critical in order to establish trademark rights.  Instead, you can have trademark rights under what’s known as common law.  And that’s usually governed by a particular state law.

What Kind of Trademark Do I Need?

Welcome to Trademark Law Radio, a top web resource on issues of trademark infringement, trademark licensing, trademark protection, and trademark registration.

This is Brian Hall, a trademark attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC; a trademark law firm representing trademark applicants and registrants throughout the United States.  Today, I will be answering the question:  What kind of trademark do I need?  And in order to answer this question, we need to talk about the different kinds of trademarks that exist.   Let’s first keep in mind that a trademark is a distinctive sign, symbol, indicator or some other representation that is used to identify the source of goods or services provided.  A trademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image or even a combination of all of those elements or some of them.  There’s even what’s known as non-conventional trademarks, which can be made up of colors, smells and even sounds.  So, when determining whether or not to apply for a trademark, and more specifically, what kind of trademark to apply for, there are many options out there.

What is the Difference between a Trademark and Service Mark?

Welcome to Trademark Law Radio, a top web resource on issues of trademark infringement, trademark licensing, trademark protection, and trademark registration.

This is Brian Hall, a trademark attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC, a trademark law firm representing trademark applicants, trademark registrants and those looking to enforce their intellectual property throughout the United States and the world.  Today, I will be answering the question:  What is the difference between a trademark and a service mark?  The short answer is not much.  However, let’s look at them individually.

A trademark identifies the goods that are associated with the particular mark, whereas a service mark identifies the services that are associated with a particular mark.  The requirements to acquire either a trademark or service mark are the same.  You have to use a distinctive mark in interstate commerce.  Those are two requirements.

What is a Fanciful Trademark?

Welcome to Trademark Law Radio, a top web resource on issues of trademark infringement, trademark licensing, trademark protection, and trademark registration.

My name is Brian Hall and I’m a trademark attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm specializing in the representation of trademark owners throughout the world.  Today, I will be answering the question:  What is a fanciful trademark? 

Before I get into that answer, it is important to look at the spectrum of trademark distinctiveness in which fanciful trademarks fall.  At the lowest end of that spectrum is what’s known as generic trademarks or terms that merely describe a class of products and therefore are not entitled to trademark protection.   Just above generic trademarks are descriptive trademarks, which may or may not be entitled to trademark protection depending on how long they have been used and whether or not the consuming public recognizes them as an identifier source as opposed to merely describing a good or service.  Above descriptive trademarks is what’s known as suggestive trademarks which indirectly allude to some quality of the product and are inherently distinctive and entitled to protection.  But most importantly, the topic of today is fanciful trademarks.  And fanciful trademarks are the strongest trademarks available and entitled to the most protection, and they fall into two categories.

What is a Suggestive Trademark?

Welcome to Trademark Law Radio, a top web resource on issues of trademark infringement, trademark licensing, trademark protection, and trademark registration.

This is Brian Hall, a trademark attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm specializing in representation of trademark owners throughout the world.  Today, we will be answering the question: What is a suggestive trademark? 

In the past, I have spoken about descriptive trademarks, as well as generic trademarks.  However, today, I want to focus on suggestive trademarks which are inherently distinctive and warrant protection as trademarks. 

A suggestive trademark, simply put, indirectly alludes to a quality of the goods or services that the mark has used in connection with.  While there is a fine line between a descriptive trademark and suggestive trademark, suggestive trademarks should be preferred because they entitle the owner of the trademark two exclusive rights.

What is a Descriptive Trademark?

Welcome to Trademark Law Radio, a top web resource on issues of trademark infringement, trademark licensing, trademark protection, and trademark registration.

My name is Brian Hall, and I’m a trademark attorney with Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm specializing in the representation of trademark owners throughout the world.  Today, we will be answering the question:  What is a descriptive trademark?  As some people know, trademarks can be classified in a whole spectrum of trademark distinctiveness categories.  A trademark can be deemed, fanciful or arbitrary, suggestive, descriptive or, in some cases, generic, meaning it has no rights as a trademark. 

Today, we will be figuring out how do you determine whether or not something is descriptive trademark?  It is important to understand that if a mark merely describes the goods or services used in connection with that mark, it is going to be deemed a descriptive trademark.    Descriptive trademarks are not entitled to trademark protection.  They are deemed merely descriptive, as opposed to distinctive.

Personal Names can be Protected as Trademarks: Just Ask John Elway

Huffington Post:  In a letter from his trademark attorneys, legendary quarterback, John Elway, asks a Colorado-based punk band that goes by the name 'Elway' to stop using his personal name. 

Personal names are protected under the ACPA, UDRP and other trademark laws.  The trademark attorneys for John Elway took an interesting approach.  Instead of sending a cease and desist letter, they politely asked the band to consider changing its name.  It certainly doesn't look like there's much merit to a trademark infringement claim under the facts presented in the article.  The band makes no reference to football or John Elway in any of their songs, artwork or marketing.  It appears to be purely coincidental that the band name is also the same as the famous celebrity football player John Elway.  If John Elway really wants the band to change names, he probably is going to have to pay them some money.

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