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Even if your business or its products have not quite achieved widespread fame or consumer recognition, not paying sufficient attention to the legal requirements for trademarks can not only jeopardize your brand itself, but also customers and sales, and possibly open up opportunities for competitors to harm your business.
Unfortunately, not every trademark is registrable or protectable. Therefore, it is crucial that you seek the advice of an experienced trademark attorney early in your business planning to help arrive at a name that is not only available, but has “strength” and is capable of registration with the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office).
Trademark Attorney in Phoenix
While it’s a great feeling knowing that your mark will be granted approval and added to the Principal Register, however your work as a business owner and trademark holder doesn’t end with a registration certificate. Business owners often forget that there are subsequent filings that are required in order to maintain your registration. Keeping your registration for the life of your business is definitely possible but is not a given. The USPTO, your competition, and third-parties who want your name themselves would love nothing more than to see your mark “abandoned” or cancelled altogether.
In addition to periodic filings required to maintain your registration, there is also the time and effort that must go into making sure your trademarks are at all times used properly by your sales staff, promotional personnel, locations, and other internal parties. The same (and perhaps more) vigilance is necessary to police the usage and display of your trademarks by outside third-parties, such as vendors and licensees.
And then there are infringing or other malicious activities by your competitors, counterfeiters, and nefarious third-parties. Today’s business owners must constantly be on the lookout and prepared to take immediate, aggressive action against behavior which would have been impossible before the Internet. For example, a competitor might be using your trademarks in keyword search advertising campaigns to divert your customers. Other bad actors can easily register domain names either identical or confusingly similar to your trademark as a way of holding it for ransom or simply to confuse your customers or otherwise harm your business.
Trademark Law services
Among the services our Phoenix law firm’s Trademark practice offers to business owners to assess, vet, choose, register, maintain, and defend their valuable trademarks, service marks, and trade dress properties, are:
- Evaluation and assessment of existing, proposed, or potentially conflicting trade and service marks
- Basic trademark “knock-out” search and clearance
- Advising on which International Class(es) to register your trademark in
- Assistance with crafting your mark’s description of goods and services
- Registration to register your trademark or service mark before the USPTO
- Response to USPTO Office Action letters
- Advising on best practices, reviewing, modifying, or preparing trademark display and usage policies and guidelines to prevent genericide, “naked” licensing, and dilution
- Enforcement and defense of your trademark, including oppositions and cancellations, preparing C&D letters, and advising you on trademark monitoring services
- Preparation of licensing arrangements for your trademarks, service marks, and trade dress properties
- Documentation of trademark assignments and transfers
- State trademark registration (only recommended in limited circumstances)
- Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings and representation
- Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) proceedings and representation
- Domain name registrant change agreements
- Domain name transfer agreements
- Claims under the Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (15 U.S.C. § 1125(d))
BHANDLAW, PLLC is a startup, technology, and e-commerce law practice advising founders and management teams on company startup, corporate and technology transactions, e-commerce, as well as Internet privacy concerns. The firm serves corporate and individual clients throughout Arizona, the United States, and internationally. Our offices are conveniently located along the Camelback corridor in Phoenix’s financial district. For more information about our Trademark Law practice, feel free to reach out using the contact form on the right or call us at (602) 222-5542 to schedule a meeting.