One of the biggest misconceptions about trademarks is that you must register a trademark with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in order to have any trademark rights at all. That is not the case. Trademark rights are actually derived from using a trademark in commerce in connection with products or services. These are called “common law” trademark rights. However, trademark registration greatly expands upon those common law rights. In this post, I will explain some of the key benefits and protections that you can get by registering your trademark with the USPTO.
Geographic Expansion of Rights
Perhaps the biggest benefit that a trademark registration provides is the geographic expansion of your rights. By that, I mean that registration of your trademark with the USPTO gives you the legal presumption of ownership of your trademark throughout the entire United States. Without registration, your common law use rights are limited to the geographic areas where you regularly provide your products or services. Of course, if you decide to expand or franchise your business, having access to use your trademark in new markets throughout the country will be invaluable. Similarly, if you are an ecommerce business selling products online, you want to be sure that you can safely sell your products to customers regardless of where they are located.
Selling Your Business
Maybe you aren’t thinking about franchising or expanding your business. But have you thought of what you will do with the business when you retire? Even if you’re not currently thinking that far ahead, it is likely that you will want to sell your business someday. A trademark registration has tremendous value for any business. Potential buyers will view your trademark registrations as important assets.
Your registrations are like the insurance a potential purchaser will want in order to ensure that the name and brand they are buying is secure. Buyers will pay a higher price for the business purchase when a company has registered its trademarks. Without a registration, the risk of having to deal with a future trademark infringement lawsuit or having to rebrand is greater. If the business is bought and then ordered to change its name as a result of a trademark infringement lawsuit, the buyer will have lost a lot of the value from the purchase. On the other hand, purchasing a business that owns registrations for its trademarks is much less risky.
Putting Others on Notice
Aside from securing your trademark rights, a federal registration can also be helpful in that it puts others on notice of your rights. New businesses can and should conduct trademark searches to ensure that they are not adopting trademarks that infringe on the rights of others. The USPTO database is the largest and most commonly used database for new businesses to search for conflicting trademarks. If you register your trademark, your registration will be viewable by others and should discourage them from adopting a trademark that is confusingly similar. This can save you the hassle of having to deal with infringing parties later on.
Another benefit that a trademark registration gives you is the right to use the ® symbol with your mark. This lets other parties know that you have registered your mark with the Trademark Office. When used in combination with your mark, it also makes it easier to obtain monetary damages should you have to file a trademark infringement lawsuit.
Avoiding Infringement Issues
Having a federal trademark registration provides you with the legal presumption that you own the trademark, as previously mentioned. This can be very useful if someone accuses you of trademark infringement. The registration also makes it easier to establish your “priority” in the trademark. In other words, it helps to prove the date on which you acquired trademark rights.
By registering your trademark you can put others on notice and hopefully prevent them from adopting a similar mark. In addition, registration of your trademark can also prevent others from registering confusingly similar marks. When the Trademark Office reviews an application, it will issue a rejection if the trademark is too similar to a trademark that is already registered. This may also persuade the owner to look into a different trademark altogether.
Are You Thinking “I Should Register My Trademark”?
If you are not sure whether it makes sense to register your mark, or if you have decided to register but need help, please feel free to call me at (480) 360-3499, email me at kevin@yourtrademarkattorney.com, or complete the contact form found on this page to schedule your free initial consultation today. I look forward to speaking with you.
