FAQTrademarks

FAQs TRADEMARKS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

TRADEMARKS

What is a trademark?
What is a servicemark?
What is a tradename?
What is a registered mark?
What is the deadline for filing a trademark application?
How long do trademark rights last?
How much does a trademark registration cost?
Where is a trademark effective?
Who owns a trademark?
What is trademark infringement?

1. What is a trademark?

A trademark is a word, name, symbol, device or combination used or intended to be used in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods or products of a company and to indicate the source of the goods.

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2. What is a servicemark?

A service mark is a word, name, symbol, device or combination used or intended to be used in commerce to identify and distinguish the services of a company and to indicate the source of the services.

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3. What is a tradename?

A tradename is a name which a company uses or is known as in its business or trade.

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4. What is a registered mark?

A registered mark in the US is a trademark or servicemark for which an application has been filed in the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and such application has been allowed and matured to registration. Registered marks are entitled to be marked with the symbol ®. Unregistered marks are typically marked with the symbol ™.

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5. What is the deadline for filing an application for registration?

There is no absolute deadline for filing an application. However, it may be beneficial to file as soon as you have a bona fide intention to use the mark or as soon as use you have begun to use the mark.

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6. How long do trademark rights last ?

Trademark rights typically last as long as the owner properly uses and maintains the mark. Registrations are renewable every ten years.

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7. How much does a trademark registration cost?

Trademark registrations are relatively inexpensive. Costs include government fees and attorney fees at several stages (filing, prosecution, issue) of an application process that typically extends about one year. Costs typically range from $1500 to 2,500.

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8. Where is a registration effective?

A US registration is legally effective in the US only.

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9. Who owns a trademark?

The user is the owner in most cases. In some cases, such a franchise, the user is a licensee of a owner (franchisor-licensor).

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10. What is trademark infringement?

A person may be liable for infringement if, without consent of a trademark registrant, he “uses in commerce any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered mark” which “is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive...”

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