Protecting a trademark. How do you protect your trademarks and servicemarks? How do you file with the government?

Elisha Baity, MGT 386, December 10, 2008

A trademark is a word, name, symbol, device, or combination thereof used for a good for identification purposes (www.sec.state.ri.us/corps/trademark/trademark-q.doc). A servicemark is a word, name, symbol or device used for a service for identification purposes (Moore, 2008). A trademark or servicemark should be established at the earliest date of initial use of the good or service (www.amerilawyer.com). Reasons to obtain a trademark or servicemark include the following (www.amerilawyer.com):
* The name of a product can become a valuable asset to a company
* Registration of a trademark or servicemark helps in keeping others from adopting your product or design
* Failure to register a trademark or servicemark can mean no protection or limited protection in a local geographic region
* Registration allows for use of the Federal trademark symbol ®
* Promotion and advertisement of the product can be done with extra assurance
* Injunctions and statutory damages can be allotted if a copycat situation occurs

Requirements to file include filing under the owner’s name, specifying the type of business entitiy, describing the use of the product or advertising of the product on an actual use application, a statement of good faith in an intent-to-use application, and a visual of the product (www.amerilawyer.com). When registering a product or service, the owner must choose a category that is best representative (www.sec.state.ri.us/corps/trademark/trademark-q.doc). If the product or service falls into more than one category, an application needs to be filed for each one (www.sec.state.ri.us/corps/trademark/trademark-q.doc). The registration process for a trademark or servicemark is a six-month to eight-month process (www.amerilawyer.com). Once the registration process has begun, the owner may us the trademark symbol, ™, until the process is complete. After completion, the owner may use the Federal trademark symbol ®.

Failure to register a product or service can cause a company to lose out on substantial benefits. The benefits include nationwide protection, presumption of validity in infringement litigation, and permission to use the ® symbol (www.amerilawyer.com).

References

Moore, Shannon (2008). Trademark vs. Servicemark. Ezine Articles. Retrieved December 10, 2008, from www.ezinearticles.com

www.sec.state.ri.us/corps/trademark/trademark-q.doc. Retrieved December 10, 2008.

www.amerilawyer.com. Retrieved December 10, 2008