If you’re an entrepreneur or a business owner, you’ve probably heard about how important it is to register your brand name and logo as a trademark. A trademark is a design, word, or phrase used to identify and separate goods and services from one another. By registering your trademark, you gain both legal defense and the sole right to use it in connection with your products or services. We’ll go over how to submit a trademark application online in this article.
To make sure your chosen trademark isn’t currently being used by someone else, you must do a thorough search prior to filing a trademark application. The Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can be used to look up already-registered trademarks.
You can start the application process once you’ve confirmed that no one else is using your intended trademark. Using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) of the USPTO, you can submit your trademark application online. In addition to the mark itself, the products or services it will be used in conjunction with, and your contact information, you must supply information about your trademark.
Step 3: Submit the filing fee Depending on how many classes of goods or services you’re seeking for, different filing fees apply to your trademark application. The current USPTO fee schedule is available online. The filing fee must be paid when you submit your application.
Step 4: Keep an eye on your application The Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system of the USPTO allows you to keep track of the status of your trademark application after it has been submitted. You can retrieve your trademark registration certificate after your application is accepted, read any office actions or letters from the USPTO, and keep track of the progress of your application using this system.
A business structure known as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) protects its owners from personal liability. A trademark, on the other hand, is a picture, word, or phrase that is used to identify and separate products or services. An LLC and a trademark vary primarily in that an LLC is a type of corporate structure and a trademark is a type of intellectual property.
The cost to obtain a trademark or patent varies depending on a variety of elements, including the application’s complexity and the quantity of classes of products or services. Applications for trademarks typically cost less than those for patents. So, Can a Name Be Trademarked Without a Company?
You can trademark a name even if you don’t have a company. The USPTO must be convinced that you have a genuine intention to use the mark in connection with goods or services before you can be granted a trademark. To put it another way, you cannot register a trademark for the sole purpose of protecting a name. To use the mark in commerce, you must have a good purpose.
The right to trademark a logo is not free. Applications for trademarks require filing fees, and the price varies according to how many classes of goods or services you’re requesting. However, compared to the potential advantages of having the sole right to use your name in connection with your products or services, the expense of establishing a trademark is very inexpensive.
Depending on the nation where a trademark was registered, its life span varies. As long as a trademark is used in commerce and the required maintenance filings are made, it can remain registered in the United States indefinitely. In other nations, the duration of a trademark registration is typically 10 years, with the option of further extensions. To ascertain the length of the trademark’s registration, it is crucial to review the country’s unique rules and regulations.