Fighting Trademark Infringement: Monitor Third Party Uses and Send Trademark Notice or Trademark Threat Letters as Necessary

If it becomes necessary to challenge a third party’s use of a mark, the most important legal hurdle to jump is the right to the mark. If you are to stop the use of another party’s mark, you have to be able to prove that you have superior rights to the mark. This is to say that the third party started using the mark after your company.

It is also important for a court to realize the confusion that the trademark violation has upon consumers, as a "likelihood of confusion" is necessary to win relief for a trademark infringement. This often means that both the marks and the products or services involved must be sufficiently similar to cause confusion.

However, with the help of an attorney, it is possible to protect your trademark from being infringed upon in the first place. The most effective way to do this is by filing opposition to the registration of another mark with the appropriate trademark office, which, if successful, will have the application denied.

A follow up to achieving the denial of a third party’s trademark application is to send them a "cease and desist" letter, which will allow you to confirm that they have stopped using your prior registered trademark.