Protecting Trademarks

Chris Jackson, MGT 386, December 5, 2008

As many advisors and lawyers will tell you, registering a trademark or obtaining service rights is the best way to protect the rights to any product or service. According to Wikipedia, “The term trademark is also used informally to refer to any distinguishing attribute by which an individual is readily identified, such as the well known characteristics of celebrities” (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark). In fact, they have also shown to add more value to that particular product or service because they are one of the most important assets to that company. This was best stated in a trademark article by Jane Tucker when she said, “Just as you would protect your other assets from harm, you should also do what is necessary to ensure protection of your trademark or service mark from a competitor who may attempt to sell different goods or services under an identical or confusingly similar name” (Protecting Your Trademark and/or Service Mark Rights, http://www.vanblk.com/Resources/Legal_Articles_Cases/ProtectingYourTrademarkandorServiceMarkRights.asp). It is also to your advantage to go through this process for security reasons as stated above.

Upon further research, I uncovered information on the United States Patent and Trademark Office Website, which stated that there are detailed instructions to follow that can easily lead you to your own registration of a trademark or service mark. In this process of filing with the government, the first step is to identify which type of intellectual property is best for you, which in this case is a trademark. According to the USPTO, “The next step is to search our database, before filing your application, to determine whether anyone is already claiming trademark rights in a particular mark” (United States Patent and Trademark Office, http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/workflow/start.htm). It also states that after you have chosen your mark and conducted a trademark search, you will need to draft a description of goods and/or services. A trademark application is incomplete without a statement identifying the goods and/or services with which the mark is used or will be used. This identification of goods or services must be specific enough to identify the nature of the good or services.

In my research I have found that not only can you register through the United States Patent Office, but you can also register through the Alabama Secretary of State on their website if you wanted to register more of a smaller business type company under a trademark. This process would certify that you would maintain this trademark for ten years until you renew it (Alabama Secretary of State, http://www.sos.state.al.us/BusinessServices/Trademarks.aspx). Rights of ownership of a particular mark are derived from the Common Law of Alabama which states that once you adopt and use a mark, and are documented as the first to use this mark, that you will then have exclusive rights to use that mark.

Protection of trademarks is a serious issue when it comes to protecting a business or product, that is has sometimes landed individuals in the court room with issues that result in severe repercussions. One thing that everyone should do once they decide to apply for a trademark is obtain legal assistance, so that you will have some aide through the process and do not overlook any minor details that could have serious consequences for negligence.