I am often asked do I need a trademark for my slogan? Can I patent my idea? How do I keep others from copying seminar materials that I have written? Well, here’s a primer for what all small business owners should know to protect their valuable intellectual property assets. First, you need to know what the […]
As a former trademark examining attorney for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and founder of The Trademark Company I am often asked for suggestions on how to select a great trademark by our start-up business customers. The response is always the same, “It depends on what you want out of your trademark.” There are two schools of […]
A U.S. federal trademark registration is your business’s most important asset. It’s how consumers in the marketplace identify your goods and services apart from those of your competitors. It’s also invaluable in stopping your competitors from adopting trademarks that are confusingly similar to yours. But the path to securing a U.S. federal trademark is often […]
I love McDonald’s. If I could I would eat there three meals a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year. McDonald’s has been with me throughout my life from when I was a kid of the seventies watching Ronald McDonald to when I moved to Washington D.C. in the early nineties. When I […]
In 2003 the United States signed the Madrid Protocol treaty permitting the holders of U.S. trademark applications and/or registrations to extend their U.S. trademark rights globally into over 80 countries around the world simply by filing requests to do so through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Although the treaty dramatically simplified the process of […]
Individuals are often confused by the distinctions between copyrights, patents, and trademarks. In this article, we explain the basis for copyright protection, what can be protected under U.S. Copyright laws, and the benefits of registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. What Is Protected Under U.S. Copyright Law? A Copyright is a form of […]
A few years ago we were approached by an online nutraceutical company to assist them in the enforcement of their trademarked product lines. The company came to us after a prolonged period of watching their monthly sales decline and finally suspecting that one of their competitors was somehow stealing some of their customers. More specifically, over […]
Did you know you can use your federally registered copyrights and trademarks to block the importation of infringing goods from entering the U.S.? In 2012 the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) made 22,848 intellectual property rights seizures with a manufacturer’s suggested retail value of $1.26 billion. Could this be affecting your business? Most intellectual […]
Many years ago we represented a Belgium chocolatier who had built a reputation for producing the finest chocolate in the world. But, as they soon found out, often the sweet taste of success is followed by the bitter realization that others will try and capitalize off of your hard work and dedication. As fate would […]
Recently the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“TTAB”) cancelled the federal trademark registrations for the NFL’s Washington Redskins on the grounds that they violate Section 2(a) of The Trademark Act of 1946. Specifically, the Redskins’ trademarks were cancelled under Section 2(a) because, in the eyes of TTAB, the […]