The Importance of Trademarking
Your company name and your company logo are what you use to identify your business. In order to protect your business and help your business grow, you want to prevent others from using your name or logo in their advertising. A trademark will help you to deter other companies from trying to use your hard work to their advantage.
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Identification
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A trademark is a distinguishing sequence of words, a collection of colors or a particular image that identifies a company as being the originator of goods or services. A trademark is acquired as soon as a company uses one of these elements to identify themselves in some public way. For example, if you create a new logo for your company, then you establish that logo as your trademark when you use it in a magazine advertisement for your company. It is not necessary to register a trademark in order to be able to claim the rights to it, you only need to use it in a public manner.
Types
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An unregistered trademark is a trademark that is used by a company without being registered with any government agency. You can use the familiar TM symbol on your advertising to indicate that you are claiming a phrase, logo or color combination as your trademark. An unregistered trademark cannot use the familiar R symbol, because that is reserved for registered trademarks. A registered trademark has been registered with the United States government and any necessary international trademarking bodies as an official symbol of the company. A formally registered trademark can use the R symbol to signify that the trademark is under commerce protection law.
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Domestic Trademarks
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Even though a trademark can be established in the United States without being registered with the government, it is easier to defend a registered trademark in court than it is to defend an unregistered trademark. In most cases, an unregistered trademark is only considered to have regional implications. A company on the East Coast of the United States would have a difficult time stopping a company on the West Coast from using its unregistered logo. Registering the trademark prevents any company in the United States from legally using your company logo or other trademarked identifiers.
International Trademarks
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To prevent international businesses from using your company logo, you must first register your trademark in the United States so that it can be filed internationally. The laws of other nations differ in terms of trademarks, and many countries only recognize a registered trademark as being legal. A registered trademark can be protected by U.S. Customs officials and prevent products from entering the United States that violate your trademark registration.
Getting a Trademark
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Domestically, you can obtain a trademark by working through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. To obtain international trademarks, you must first obtain a U.S. trademark, and then contract the services of an international trademark attorney to help you register your trademark internationally.
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