Trademarking your brand is a smart business decision. Knowing how to get the most out of it is just as important.
You are responsible for using and maintaining your trademarks. You want to keep it in good standing at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. You’ll also want to take the steps needed to get the most out of it. Here’s how.
- Announce Your Registration to the World
- Start Using the Trademark Symbol
- Look for Copycats
- Consider Foreign Trademark Protection
- Periodically Check New Filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Keep Your Application Alive
- Register your mark with U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Announce Your Registration to the World
Trademark registration conveys stability, scale, and, most importantly, credibility. Don’t keep it a secret! Plus, you’ve worked hard to register your trademark – celebrate it. Publicize your achievement by:
- Posting on social media sites like Facebook®, Instagram®, LinkedIn®, and Twitter®, and;
- Writing a blog post;
- Issuing a press release;
- Sending out an email to your subscribers; and
- Mentioning your award in your newsletter. Creating awareness about your trademark registration very well might result in a bump in sales too!
Start Using the Trademark Symbol
You should add the ® symbol to the upper right corner of your mark wherever it is used. This includes on social media and especially your website. This lets the world know that your brand is protected nationally by Federal law.
It also makes it easier to show that someone intentionally copied your mark and get money damages.
Beware: Only Federal trademarks that have been granted an official registration certificate by the USPTO should use the ®.
Trademark Protection Means Looking for Copycats
As a trademark owner, you need to find and stop copycats. Otherwise, you could lose your trademark rights. While the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will prevent others from registering similar marks, it does not get involved with enforcement.
You’ll need to search for trademark infringement by checking for similar brands selling like products or services.
The best way to do this is with Internet searches. Some trademark owners set up “Google Alerts” to automate this process.
If you do see a similar brand, for similar products or services, you’ll want to have a trademark law firm prepare and send a trademark cease + desist letter.
Consider Foreign Trademark Protection
If you do business abroad, you can use your U.S. registration as a basis to obtain a registration in foreign countries. Consider Canada, China, the European Union, and Japan.
Periodically Check New Filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
The trademarking process is not perfect. The USPTO can make a mistake and approve a trademark that is too close to yours. If you discover a mistake, you have the option to oppose the registration of the new trademark. Talk with your trademark attorney.Often, applicants retreat at the first notice of an intent to oppose.
Keep Your Trademark Alive
Trademarks may never expire – if you “check-in” with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at specific times to let them know that you are still using your trademark.These dates are listed on your registration certificate.
- The first renewal is due between the 5th and 6th year after the date of registration;
- The second renewal is due between the 9th and 10th year after registration; and
- The third and all subsequent renewals are due every ten years thereafter. These dates are important. If the documents are not filed timely, your registration will be canceled and cannot be revived or reinstated.
Watch Out for Scammers
There are private companies that try to impersonate the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to scam people into paying fees to them. They often use names and terms like “United States,” “U.S.,” “Trademark,” “Patent,” “Registration,” “Office,” or “Agency” to make their solicitations look like official government documents. These solicitations are scams and have no connection with the USPTO. Unfortunately, this practice continues after registration. So, be sure to read trademark-related communications carefully before deciding to pay.
All official correspondence will be from the “United States Patent and Trademark Office” in Alexandria, VA, and if by email, specifically from the domain “@uspto.gov.”
Register your mark with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
If you are worried about cheap and/or inferior quality knock-offs hurting your brand, you can ask the CBP, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, to stop the importation of goods that infringe your Federal trademark. The CBP stops over $1 billion of infringing goods every year. The top seized commodities included apparel, accessories, consumer electronics, and pharmaceuticals.
For more than twenty years, Michael Kondoudis has been the go-to trademarking expert for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Michael is a USPTO-licensed trademark and patent attorney, educator, speaker, and author of the Amazon best-seller: Going From Business Owner to Brand Owner. He is also an authority trusted by national news media on major trademark stories.
Fun Facts: Michael is a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court and an actual rocket scientist (B.S. Astronomy and Astrophysics, Indiana University 1994).