After all your hard work getting your trademark listed on the USPTO’s Principal Register, you have several years before you must submit more paperwork to the federal agency. Essentially, the USPTO wants proof that you continuously use your trademark in commerce after it’s registered. We’ll go over some important timelines and other information in this blog so your trademark isn’t at risk of cancellation.  Declaration Read More

One thing to know about trademark applications is that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is not lenient on trademark applicants who are not intellectual property attorneys. To be successful in your application, you must be thorough and adhere to all requirements of the application. And, to be sure, there is plenty that can go wrong with a trademark application. We’ll go over some of these common reasons in Read More

When your business is in its very early stages, money is, understandably, extremely tight. As the founder of a startup, you are only concerned about the things that will make your business money today. Although it is very tempting to get tunnel vision and think this way, you are doing a disservice to your long-term business prospects by not considering what you need to do with your business’s intellectual property. Read More

The answer to this question is “no;” once you have successfully submitted a trademark application and received protection from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), your mark does not have unlimited rights. This blog will explore a couple of the limitations of trademark protection in the U.S.  What is Eligible for Trademark Protection? Initially, let’s review what exactly can be trademarked in the U.S. The Read More

The USPTO maintains two lists for trademark registrations: the supplemental register and the principal register. As their names suggest, the principal register is the upper tier of trademark registration and offers more protections than marks listed on the supplemental register. Arguably the most attractive part of being on the principal register is being the presumptive owner of a trademark in all 50 states. Without Read More

With the proliferation of do-it-yourself legal services out there (provided by companies like LegalZoom), it can be especially tempting to use these for seemingly simple legal actions. Entrepreneurs, especially those managing early-stage startup companies, are looking for any way to cut down on costs. This leads many to file trademark applications on their own, without the help of an attorney.  While the U.S. Patent Read More

These unprecedented times are scary for us all. Though the numbers are still out, it seems that while coronavirus is mainly life-threatening only for the elderly and immunocompromised, it can also in some cases claim the lives of the young and the healthy. For many, this is a wakeup call. Between accidents and undetected medical issues, the young and seemingly healthy have never been death-proof, but the highly Read More

There is no requirement for trademarks to be registered in the U.S. Despite this relaxed rule, it is in your best interest to protect any distinctive marks that identify your business and the products or services offered. If you do not apply to have your marks protected, they are at risk of being infringed or diluted by outside parties who seek to piggyback off the success of your business endeavors. This blog will Read More

There are many benefits to securing your intellectual property in the U.S. The main reason for doing so is gaining access to the world’s largest economy. Fortunately to potential filers, you do not need to be an American citizen to apply for IP protection inside the U.S. As globalization continues to permeate every aspect of the global economy, there have been actions taken to make filing in the U.S. from a foreign Read More

Started in 1971 at a cafe in Seattle, today, Starbucks is the world's largest coffee franchise with more than 28,000 branches in 75 countries. Some of the coffee prices paid by consumers around the world are used to protect Starbucks' brand and its value. Many coffee shops, such as Sambuck's in a small American town and Xingbake, which have been widespread in China, have been renamed after losing their trademark Read More