Once you have filed a federal trademark application, you will want to check its status from time to time.  Fortunately, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office records are all online.  They are also generally easy to access.  Keep in mind that if you provided the USPTO with your email address, you should receive an update … Read more

Trademark law in the United States is unique in several ways.  For example, you generally have to use your trademark in commerce before you can obtain a federal trademark registration.  To show use, you will have to provide evidence called a trademark “specimen” to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office as part of the application process.  … Read more

One of the biggest trademark misconceptions is that you must register a trademark (with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office) in order to get any trademark rights.  That is not the case.  Trademark rights are actually obtained by using the trademark in commerce.  These are called “common law” trademark rights.  However, trademark registration greatly expands … Read more

The trademark registration process is not as quick as it used to be.  Over the last few years it has started taking almost a year for an initial review of new applications.  Clients rightfully want to know what they should expect in terms of the time to register a trademark.  Time and money are big … Read more