One of the most valuable assets of a business are its trademarks. Statistics reveal that they make up for one-third of the total corporate value. Creating, protecting and registering a trademark is not just a cost of owning a business, but it is actually deemed as an investment in goodwill. Trademarks can actually lead to higher sales and promote greater customer satisfaction. Anything can be a trademark; whether it is a logo, scent, word, shape, taste, sound or a combination of them. Basically, it is the element that distinguishes the products or services of a company from another. Moreover, trademarks are also an assurance to customers about consistent quality thereby promoting the concept of efficient competition.
The cost of trademark registration in the US is not as high as patent filing. You can base your application for registering a trademark on your intent to use it, which enables you to reserve the mark for about three years after the Trademark Office has approved it. Secondly, the application can also be based on the actual use of the trademark in US commerce. Trademark registration can help a business in a number of ways and some of them include:
- Discourage others from using similar marks by making your trademark easy to find. This can prevent problems even before they have surfaced.
- Trademark registration also serves as a basis for foreign registrations and this can actually facilitate the protection of your mark when you expand your business globally.
- If your trademark is registered, you will be able to file a case of trademark infringement in federal court instead of having to go to state court.
- When you own a registered trademark, you are also entitled get attorney fees and treble damages, which means three times the damage, in case of trademark infringement.
- A constructive notice is provided ‘nationwide’ when a trademark is federally registered, which basically informs everyone that it belongs to you. Essentially, this means that the infringing party cannot claim they were unaware of the trademark when they used it.
- Your rights to the trademark can continue indefinitely, as long as appropriate steps are taken for renewing it when necessary.
- One of the most obvious benefits of registering your trademark is that it grants your business exclusivity. You can get legal exclusivity for your logo or brand name. You will be able to use it without any problems and not have to worry about other traders using the same. In addition, your customers can use your trademark to identify you and this promotes the process of brand recognition, which contributes to sales and profits.
Hence, registering a trademark can turn out to be a sound investment for a business that wishes to operate in the long term. However, there is considerable paperwork involved in trademark registration and you have to be aware of the legal rules. Even a slight mistake can enable your competitor to take advantage and they may register the trademark before you. You don’t want that to happen. The best way to prevent this is to use the assistance of experts, which, in this case, are lawyers who specialize in trademark registration.
Attorneys such as Trademark Access can come in handy as they are well aware of the ins and outs of the trademark registration process. They have the required knowledge in this field and can tell you exactly what steps to take and when. With their guidance, you will be able to register your trademark efficiently and as quickly as possible thereby adding a valuable asset to your business’s portfolio in the long term.
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