Anyone ever successfully registered a trademark?
Saturday, September 20th, 2008 at
9:02 pm
More gravy than grave asked:
specifically a title…What did you have to do? What fees were you charged? Did you have a lawyer? I just want to register claim to a 4 word Title for commercial use. I’ll probably be submitting an electronic application, but I don’t know the difference between a TEAS, and TEAS plus application.
and I don’t understand that clause that says it’s supposed to already be in commercial use.
specifically a title…What did you have to do? What fees were you charged? Did you have a lawyer? I just want to register claim to a 4 word Title for commercial use. I’ll probably be submitting an electronic application, but I don’t know the difference between a TEAS, and TEAS plus application.
and I don’t understand that clause that says it’s supposed to already be in commercial use.
Tagged with: Electronic Application • Lawyer • Register • Teas
Filed under: Attorney FAQ
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You can’t register a title as a trademark.
To be registered, a trademark must be already in commercial use – you can’t register “in contemplation” of using it.
So the sequence of events is
1) Start making and selling “wazzitcalled” candy.
2) Register “wazzitcalled” as a trademarked name for your candy.
You can’t do it the other way around.
Richard
You do not register “a claim to a four word title” in the abstract. Trademark rights are not obtained through registration, but rather through use in commerce. Registration with the trademark office is not necessarily to obtain trademark rights, but is beneficial for a number of reasons, including increased coverage of your mark.
Another option if you have not used your mark in commerce is to file an “intent to use” application. However, taking this route can significantly increase your costs.
While you do not need a trademark attorney, it seems from your question that you’re not very familiar yet with trademark law. Trademark prosecution can be fraught with pitfalls — the worst of which can cause a complete loss of rights to your mark. I strongly suggest you hire a competent trademark attorney to assist you.
For more information on trademark law, I suggest you start with the USPTO website FAQ on trademarks, which is linked below.
And just to clarify, “commercial use” is not necessary to acquire trademark rights. The proper term is actually “use in commerce”. For example, transporting a drug for FDA approval can be considered “use in commerce” even though it’s not “commercial use”.
I should also mention that titles of single creative works are generally not registrable as trademarks. The major exception to this general rule is if you have a series of works (e.g., the Harry Potter series). More information about this can be found in the examination guide below.