Registering a trademark can protect your company’s intellectual property, and it can be a good branding move, too. Obtaining a trademark tells customers that your business is strong, and inspires confidence. And if you’re planning to do business in more than one state, you need the federal trademark protection that registering a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can provide.
The process of registering a trademark is fairly clear-cut, but it can take several months to get your trademark registration approved, and it’s reasonable to feel intimidated by the process. You have to create a good trademark, then make sure no one else has registered anything similar. Then you need to put together a trademark application containing all of the right information, and resolve any legal problems that the USPTO might find with your application or your proposed trademark itself. Finally, you’ll have to wait a few months to make sure no one is opposed to your trademark registration.
Create a Strong Trademark
In order for your trademark to be registrable and easily defensible, it should be strong and distinctive. The USPTO recommends that trademarks be fanciful, suggestive, or arbitrary. Fanciful trademarks include made-up words like Pepsi® or Texaco®. Suggestive trademarks suggest the qualities of the goods or services without naming those qualities outright, like the Nike Swoosh® suggests speed. Arbitrary trademarks are words that have no inherent association with the products or services being covered, like Apple®. Apples have no inherent association with computers, so the use of the Apple® trademark is arbitrary.
Check Existing Trademark Names
Once you have come up with a strong trademark, you need to check the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) to make sure that no one has already registered your trademark or any similar trademark. You have to search not only for the exact words and image you want to trademark, but for similar ones, too. This process can be more complicated than it first appears, and that’s one of the reasons why hiring a trademark lawyer can help you get your trademark application approved faster.
Put Together Your Trademark Application
Trademark applications require a lot of information, including your name and address as the applicant, the name and address of the person or entity who will be receiving correspondence from the USPTO, your citizenship and the name of your business, and detailed descriptions of your trademark. You’ll also have to list the goods or services your trademark will cover, and what trademark class those products and services fall into. You’ll need to provide examples of your trademark in commercial use, as well as the date you first used your mark. You’ll of course have to sign and date the application, and include a check for application fees. Fees start at $250 for TEAS Plus filing and $350 for TEAS Standard Filing.
File Your Application
When it comes time to file your trademark application, you can either use TEAS Plus or TEAS Standard filing options. TEAS Plus is more streamlined and cheaper, but you have to be able to pick the description of your goods and services from provided lists. TEAS Standard allows for custom descriptions. Once you have filed your application, you will receive a confirmation and serial number from the USPTO that will let you check trademark names for application status.
Respond to Any Office Action
If the USPTO finds any legal problems with your application or the trademark you proposed, you’ll receive an office action outlining those problems and giving you the chance to respond and resolve them. You will probably need the help of a trademark lawyer to respond to an office action letter and resolve the legal issues with your application so that your trademark registration can be approved. You won’t be able to get your trademark registration approved until you’ve resolved the issues in the office action, and if you don’t respond before the deadline, your application will be nullified.
Wait Out the Publication Period
After you’ve resolved any issues laid forth in the office action, the USPTO will approve your registration and publish your trademark in its Official Gazette. Readers will have 30 days to file an opposition to your trademark registration or ask the USPTO to give them an extension to file such opposition. If no one opposes your trademark within the 30 days, the USPTO will grant your trademark registration.
If you need to register a trademark for your business, it’s best not to wait. A delay could give someone else the chance to register your trademark instead – and even if they don’t, it’s still time you’re unprotected. Safeguard your brand from misuse and start your trademark application as soon as you can.