What Is A Trademark, And What Does A Trademark Protect?
Trademarks protect your right to use any distinctive word, phrase, or symbol in conjunction with the goods and services that you offer to others. If the trademark is registered, it means that the US government recognizes you as the true owner of the trademark, and will refuse to register any other trademarks that it thinks are “confusingly similar” to yours.
Common Law Vs. Registered Trademarks: What Is The Difference?
Two types of trademarks are possible: Common law trademarks or registered trademarks. Common law trademark rights are those that you get just from using the trademark “in commerce,” and these are often litigated (and at great expense) because it’s hard to tell who began use of the mark first, and so business owners often go to court to fight over who owns the trademark rights.
Registered trademarks are those registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and grant the trademark registrant the exclusive right to use the trademark listed on the trademark certificate — or any “confusingly similar” trademarks — with the goods and services — as well as any “related” goods and services — with the goods and services listed on the trademark registration certificate.
Why Is Trademark Registration Important?
A trademark registration is important because without one, the trademark office may grant a trademark registration to one of your competitors, who can then begin to infringe your trademarks. They can also, as the legally protected owner of the trademark, allege that you are infringing their trademark, and have your website and social media accounts removed.
If you would like to challenge that, you can file what is called a Trademark Cancellation, and prove that you were the first owner. Plan to spend $50,000 to $100,000 and about two years litigating this issue before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. To avoid this, register any trademarks that you are using with your goods and services so that your infringer will be barred from registering them with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Copyright Protects Your Creative Works
Copyright protects your right to your own creative works that you have reduced to a “tangible medium of expression.” It doesn’t protect the idea of the creative work, but the actual, physical creative work that you produced. You can register your work with the United States Copyright Office in order to be able to sue in Federal Court for copyright infringement.
Patents Protect Your Useful Inventions
Patents protect your right to your useful, new and non-obvious inventions, and award the first filer the rights to that invention. In order to be patentable, the invention must be new — it can’t be old technology — and it must be non-obvious. You can also receive patent protection for certain designs, as well as for useful inventions, but we mostly think of patents in terms of utility patents for things that are useful, rather than for things that are decorative.
Trademarks Protect Your Brand Identity
The three types of works often overlap a bit, which is why the three types of intellectual property are sometimes confused. So when you think about what a trademark is, and what it protects, think about your brand identity, and those things that tell consumers that the good or service displaying that trademark came from your company. Those are your trademarks, and if you want to keep those words, phrases, or symbols as your exclusive property that only you can use, then you should register those trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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Contact Dallas, Texas trademark attorney Angela Langlotz today to get started on a trademark application for your valuable brand.