by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - March 18, 2011 - d. How to Trademark a Name, Logo or Slogan
Welcome to Trademark Law Radio sponsored by Traverse Legal, internet law attorney specializing in trademark registration, trademark infringement, trademark protection and trademark monitoring. In this episode, Trademark Attorney Brian A. Hall discusses the benefits of international class trademark registration to cover new goods and services.
Attorney Brian A. Hall: Owning a trademark registration is a great start, but it may not be enough, unfortunately. Remember, a trademark registration provides the trademark owner with exclusive rights to use that trademark in connection with the goods or services listed in the trademark registration. Therefore, any goods or services you are offering that are not listed in that trademark registration, or not similar enough to those listed in the trademark registration, may not be something you have protected.
It is important that you are constantly reassessing the scope of your goods and services and making sure that your trademark protection covers them. Trademark protection not only offers you all the benefits associated with a trademark registration, but it also increases the value of your brand. Therefore, it is worthwhile to have a trademark attorney identify the goods and services you are currently offering and make sure that your trademark registration certificate covers those. In the event that it doesn’t, a new trademark application should be filed and hopefully procure into a trademark registration.
Similarly, should there be areas of your business you’re looking to expand, such as new product line or service line, filings can be made that will provide you with protection even prior to using the mark in connection with those areas. For example, if you sell T-shirts and you are going to be expanding your business into other items such as stickers, mugs or bumper stickers, a new trademark application would be filed to protect those areas. Likewise, if you offer a particular service but intend on offering a new service in the future, it will be absolutely critical to ensure that you could have protection for that service and take the steps necessary to get protection by filing a trademark application.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office encourages new filings to protect the different areas a business is working in. Therefore, you should take advantage of all the benefits associated with a trademark registration by making sure that you are protected. Your trademark rights will ultimately depend on it and the value of your brand will ultimately be reflected in it. Therefore, take the time to review your existing trademark registrations, your existing offerings and your intended offerings, and make sure that the sufficient protections are in place.
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
