If you want to trademark your restaurant’s name but aren’t sure how to begin, just follow our five steps to restaurant trademark protection.
By Michael Kondoudis, Restaurant Trademark Attorney
This is our ultimate guide to registering a restaurant trademark.
Building a restaurant brand takes hard work, dedication, and investment. That is what makes your restaurant’s name so valuable.
But how do you safeguard this valuable asset? How do you protect a restaurant name and brand?
That’s where trademarks come in.
In this ultimate guide, we discuss protecting a restaurant brand with trademarks and answer important questions about trademarking a restaurant name. In fact, this is the information that we use to register restaurant trademarks for our clients.
So, if you’re ready to learn about restaurant trademarks, and how they can help protect a restaurant brand, this guide is for you.
Let’s dive in!
Trademark reg. no. 6,378,403 secured by The Law Office of Michael E. Kondoudis for Capitol City Brewing Company
Contents
Part I: HOW TO PROTECT A RESTAURANT NAME
- How do you protect a restaurant name?
- Protecting a restaurant name and logo Infographic
- What is restaurant branding?
- What is a restaurant trademark?
- Do restaurants have trademarks?
Part II: HOW TRADEMARKS PROTECT RESTAURANTS
- Do restaurants need trademarks?
- How does a trademark protect a restaurant name?
- Why should you trademark a restaurant name?
Part III: HOW TO TRADEMARK A RESTAURANT
- Which parts of a restaurant brand can you trademark?
- How long does it take to get a restaurant trademark?
- When should you trademark your restaurant name?
- How do you trademark a restaurant name?
- The trademark class for restaurants
Part IV: RESTAURANT TRADEMARK SEARCHING
- Why should you conduct a trademark search?
- How do you do a trademark search?
- How do you look up trademarks for restaurant names?
Part V: TIPS TO GET THE BEST RESTAURANT TRADEMARK
Part VI: DO YOU NEED TO WORK WITH A TRADEMARK ATTORNEY
- Do you need a trademark attorney?
- Reasons why you should consult with a trademark attorney
PART VII: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- How do you search for trademarked restaurant names?
- Do you need an attorney to trademark a restaurant name?
I. How to Protect a Restaurant Name
How Do You Protect a Restaurant Name?
The best way to protect a restaurant name is to trademark the name (and any logo you might use to promote your restaurant). Trademarks protect brands, including restaurant brands. Trademarking your restaurant name is the most effective way to protect it because a trademark prevents competitors from using the same or similar name.
Also, when you trademark a restaurant name, you confirm your legal ownership of it, as well as your exclusive rights to it.
Can you legally protect your restaurant name?
Yes, you can legally protect your restaurant name with a trademark. Trademarking your Restaurant Name is official confirmation from the U.S. Government that you legally own it. Legal ownership of your restaurant name ensures name recognition and helps create a unique and recognizable brand.
Can you trademark a restaurant name?
The answer is YES. You can trademark a restaurant name, and many names of restaurants are trademarked! Trademarking the name of your restaurant (or bar) is the most effective way to protect it and the brand identity you’re building.
How do I protect my restaurant name?
You protect your restaurant name by trademarking it. Trademarking a restaurant is the best way to protect it. A restaurant trademark will protect your restaurant name and logo throughout the U.S. and ensure that they remain exclusively yours to use. Restaurants are prime candidates for trademark protection.
You trademark a restaurant name by submitting an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). To qualify for a U.S. trademark for your restaurant’s name, you will need to show that no one else has already trademarked it and that you are using it in commerce.
Protecting A Restaurant Name and Logo
What is Restaurant Branding?
A restaurant brand is what your restaurant is all about. Restaurant brands are how your patrons and customers will remember you. The best restaurant branding:
• expresses your restaurant’s identity and personality
• creates an emotional connection with patrons and guests
• invites new guests to your brand through marketing
What is a Restaurant Trademark?
A restaurant trademark is a badge of origin that tells your customers that your restaurant services come from you and not your competitors.
A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies you as the source of your products or services. Brand names, slogans, and logos are all examples of trademarks.
A restaurant trademark:
• Confirms your legal ownership of your restaurant name
• Identifies you as the source of your restaurant services
• Prevents anyone else from trademarking the same or similar restaurant name for their business
• Is a strong tool to stop copycats and keep your restaurant name uniquely yours.
Trademarks prevent consumer confusion by ensuring that other restaurants and restaurant-related businesses do not use the same or similar name or symbol.
What is a federal trademark?
A Federal trademark is an enhanced trademark that has been certified by the U.S. government. It comes with exclusive nationwide legal rights.
A federally registered trademark, such as “Panera” or “McDonald’s,” is one that has been approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and is often indicated with the ® trademark symbol.
Do Restaurants Have Trademarks?
Yes, restaurants have trademarks.
The name of your restaurant serves as a trademark.
The logo that you use to promote your restaurant serves as a trademark.
The slogan that you use to promote your restaurant serves as a trademark.
The names of your food and beverage items serve as trademarks, so long as they are unique.
II. How Trademarks Protect Restaurants
Do Restaurants Need Trademarks?
Yes, restaurants need trademarks. Whether you’re opening a new restaurant or already own one, you need to register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). You can ensure that your restaurant name, logo, slogan, and brand stay yours with a trademark. Without a trademark, anyone can copy your restaurant name, concept, and brand. These are just some of the reasons you need a trademark for your restaurant.
See How My Law Firm Can Help You Protect Your Trademark
New Applications – Legally own your trademark.
Office Actions – We can navigate the trademarking process at the USPTO.
Enforcement – Flex your trademark rights. Stop copycats.
How Does a Trademark Protect a Restaurant Name?
Trademarking a restaurant name protects it in four ways:
1. A trademark will help prevent any other restaurant from using your restaurant name. This is an essential step in building your restaurant brand.
2. Also, trademarking a restaurant name confirms YOUR legal ownership of it and how it is used. This means that no one can take it from you, and no one will be able to force you to rebrand.
3. Plus, trademarking your restaurant name prevents anyone else from registering it for their restaurant. This makes trademarking great insurance against having to rebrand.
4. Lastly, trademarks are essential for restaurants looking to franchise or open additional locations.
Remember: If you don’t trademark your restaurant name, you won’t have exclusive rights. Other restaurants could use your name and logo or ones that are really close.
Is trademarking important for a restaurant with just one location?
Yes. Restaurants with a single location are less likely to survive a forced rebrand if someone else registers their name or logo and takes it. This can and does happen. Plus, most regional and national restaurant chains started with a single location. Trademarking a restaurant name becomes very important for expansion into multiple locations or franchising.
Why Should You Trademark a Restaurant Name?
A restaurant trademark helps create a unique and recognizable brand and increases customer awareness. A restaurant trademark ensures that your restaurant trademark stays yours. A restaurant trademark prevents anyone else from trademarking the same or similar name for their restaurant. A restaurant trademark helps avoid future legal disputes, which can be costly.
III. How To Trademark A Restaurant
Which Parts of a Restaurant Brand Can You Trademark?
Several parts of a restaurant brand are eligible for trademark protection. You can trademark your restaurant name, product names, a logo, and any slogan you use to promote your foodservice business. Examples of restaurant trademarks are:
Brand Names
Product Names
Slogans
McDonald’s
Big Mac
I’m Lovin’ It
• Brand names like McDonald’s
• Product names like Big Mac
• Slogans like I’m Lovin’ It
• Logos like the Golden Arches
How Long Does It Take to Get a Restaurant Trademark?
It takes between 8-12 months to get a restaurant trademark, in most cases. The trademarking process for restaurant names is a legal process that takes about a year. The first step is applying to the USPTO, where an examining attorney examines whether your restaurant’s name qualifies for registration. Your restaurant name may not qualify if another restaurant is already using it or has registered it. If the application qualifies, it will be “published for opposition” for 30 days to give potential opponents a chance to oppose.
When Should You Trademark a Restaurant Name?
Most authorities agree that the best time to trademark a restaurant name is BEFORE opening.
The US is one of the few countries that allow you to protect your restaurant’s trademarks before you begin using them. Trademarking restaurant names BEFORE opening is an opportunity to:
• reserve a restaurant name and avoid having to change your name later
• confirm that your restaurant name does not infringe on another restaurant with a registered trademark
• complete an important branding task before operations begin.
If your restaurant is already open for business, you should start the process to trademark a restaurant name as soon as possible. If you don’t trademark your restaurant name, someone else could trademark it and force you to rebrand and start all over. Plus, the trademarking process can take about a year, so if you find a copycat, you could have to wait almost 12 months to stop them. When it comes to restaurant trademarks, sooner is better.
How To Trademark a Restaurant?
You trademark a restaurant name by applying to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and getting your application approved for registration. Trademarking a restaurant name is a legal process that usually takes about 12 months. So, the sooner you start the process to trademark a restaurant name, the better.
How to Trademark a Restaurant Name in 5 Steps
Want to trademark your restaurant name but aren’t sure how to begin? Here are 5 steps to trademark your restaurant’s name.
(1) Pick a unique name for your restaurant.
Read more about how to pick a strong trademark here.
(2) Do a trademark search for your restaurant name.
Find out if anyone else has registered your restaurant name (or anything close) by searching the USPTO’s database of all registered and pending trademarks (more on that below).
(3) Prepare your restaurant trademark application.
Collect the required information and build a brand protection strategy for your restaurant trademark.
(4) Complete and file your restaurant trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
You can file your restaurant trademark application online using the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). Read our Complete Guide to TEAS Plus here.
(5) Monitor the progress of your restaurant trademark application.
Navigate the trademark examination process and work with the trademark examiner.
The USPTO will add your restaurant trademark to the list of Federal (registered) trademarks IF your application satisfies all of the requirements of the Federal Trademark Statute.
What is the Trademark Class for Restaurants?
The USPTO categorizes all products and services into 45 separate classes. The trademark class for restaurants is International Class 43. Class 43 is for Restaurant and Hotel Services and includes restaurant-related products and services. And, because the trademark class for a restaurant name is Class 43, an application to register a restaurant name should be filed in that trademark class.
IV. Restaurant Trademark Searching
Why Should You Conduct a Trademark Search for Your Restaurant’s Name?
You should do a trademark search for your restaurant’s name for several reasons.
(1) You should do a trademark search for your restaurant’s name because it can help you avoid picking a name that someone else has already trademarked and is already taken. If you use a restaurant name that is already trademarked and in use, you might be charged with infringing someone else’s trademark.
(2) You should do a trademark search for your restaurant’s name because it can ensure that you will not be forced to rebrand in the future. No one wants to receive a cease and desist letter from another business after investing money in signs, menus, websites, and advertising.
(3) You should do a trademark search for your restaurant’s name because it will help you pick a name for your restaurant that you can own and protect with a trademark. If you use a restaurant name that other restaurants are using, you won’t be able to trademark it for yourself. You won’t legally own it and won’t be able to stop anyone from copying the restaurant name.
When starting a new restaurant, it is important to ensure that your restaurant name is unique and that no one else is already using it. Otherwise, you risk costly litigation and potentially having to rebrand, which can be financially devastating.
Your restaurant’s name will function as a trademark, which identifies the source of your restaurant’s service and distinguishes it from the competition. It is critical that the name of your restaurant is unique and that no one else is using it. A restaurant trademark name search is the only way to ensure that your restaurant name is unique and protectable.
See How My Law Firm Can Help You Protect Your Trademark
New Applications – Legally own your trademark.
Office Actions – We can navigate the trademarking process at the USPTO.
Enforcement – Flex your trademark rights. Stop copycats.
How Do You Do a Trademark Search for Trademarked Restaurant Names?
The best way to do a restaurant trademark search is to follow this four-step process:
(1) search the Internet using search engines
(2) search the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office trademark database
(3) search social media
(4) search State trademark and corporation databases
1. Search Internet
This is the easiest search tool and a good place to start. A series of Google searches of the exact restaurant name you want (and similar variations) can be very effective. After all, almost all restaurants have a website. Plus, Internet search engines can find them for you, even if they are far away from your restaurant location.
2. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) trademark database
The USPTO maintains a searchable online database of all registered trademarks and pending applications. The USPTO’s website allows for searching by name and class, and through it, you can investigate:
• Trademarks currently registered with the USPTO
• Trademarks that are in the application process
• Old trademarks that are no longer registered
Pro Tip: The USPTO website permits simple word searches and more targeted searches using “classes,” which are USPTO categories for products and services. It is often advantageous to include the service category for restaurant trademarks, which is Class 43 (Restaurants and Hotels) in searches. Use this search parameter to return the more relevant search reports.
3. Social media
Social media is another way to find smaller restaurant-related businesses that might already be using your restaurant name.
4. State corporation commission databases
Every state maintains an online database of all corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships formed or registered to do business in the state, including those that operate restaurants. These databases usually include DBAs and fictitious names as well. These business formation databases are usually searchable through the Secretary of State website for a state.
Pro Tip: Restaurant names do not need to match exactly to conflict. The legal standard for trademark infringement is something called “confusing similarity,” which is based on whether potential customers might mistakenly believe that two different businesses are related or affiliated. This means that:
1. a restaurant trademark search should include more than just other restaurants. ANY other company involved in food, food service, or hospitality might be relevant to your search. For this reason, be sure to search for restaurant-related businesses, such as bakeries, bars, caterers, coffee shops, food manufacturers, and maybe even grocery stores.
2. a restaurant trademark search should look for more than just exact matches to your restaurant name. For example, a restaurant named Bob’s Pizza could conflict with a business operating under the name Robert’s House of Cheeses.
How Do You Lookup Trademarks for Restaurant Names?
You can look up trademarks, including trademarks for restaurant names, on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) website at www.uspto.gov. You can search trademark names for restaurants online using the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) on its website. This is how to search trademark names for restaurants. This is best way to check if a business name is trademarked.
The USPTO’s TESS system allows you to search for business names in:
• Trademarks that are currently registered with the USPTO
• Trademarks that are in the process of being registered
• Old trademarks that are no longer registered
IF you find your business name in (1) or (2), then there is a good chance that your business name is taken. You should investigate the trademark owner.
IF you do not find your name in (1) and (2), or only in (3), then there is a good chance that your business name is not taken.
V. Tips To Get The Best Restaurant Trademarks
If you’re a restaurant owner, you should definitely consider trademarking the name of your restaurant.
A restaurant trademark protects your restaurant’s name and logo and prevents competing restaurants from copying or using them. Also, a restaurant trademark boosts customer awareness and helps you stand out from the competition. Plus, getting a trademark for a restaurant comes with the peace of mind that you legally own your brand. So, there are many reasons that you should want to trademark a restaurant name.
Getting a restaurant trademark is not easy, however. Read on to learn about our tips for how to get the best restaurant trademark.
Tips to Get the Best Restaurant Trademark
1. Understand the Differences Between Trademarking and Copyrighting
2. Appreciate How a Restaurant Trademark is Valuable
3. Understand the Basics of How to Trademark a Restaurant Name
4. Work with a Trademark Attorney
Tip #1 Understand the Differences Between Trademarking and Copyrighting
Understanding the differences between trademarks and copyrights is important when it comes to protecting your restaurant name.
Trademarks identify and distinguish a business and its services from other companies. The best restaurant trademark is a registered Federal trademark. Registered trademarks are administered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and are designated with the ® symbol.
Copyrights protect creative works like TV shows, books, photographs, and music by prohibiting others from copying them. The best copyrights are registered copyrights. Copyrights are administered by the Library of Congress. Copyrights do not protect restaurant names because restaurant names are not creative works.
Tip #2 Appreciate How a Restaurant Trademark is Valuable
When you trademark a restaurant name with the USPTO, you become the official, legal owner of your brand. No one can take it from you, and you won’t have to worry about being forced to rebrand. Also, your trademark will block applications filed by other restaurants for the same or similar trademarks.
A restaurant trademarking is even more important if you are considering expanding to multiple locations or franchising your restaurant concept.
Tip #3 Understand How to Trademark a Restaurant Name
Starting the process to trademark a restaurant name is fairly straightforward. Here are the most essential steps to start the process to trademark a restaurant name:
1. Check with the USPTO to see if your intended name is already registered or pending by performing a preliminary search for your restaurant name in the USPTO’s database of all registered and pending trademarks.
2. Identify which products and services you can protect with a trademark.
3. Make strategic decisions about whether to apply based on “actual use” or “an intent to use” and whether to seek broad or narrow protections.
4. File your application online using the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).
5. Pay your application fee, which is currently $350 per class of products and services.
6. Follow up and monitor your application. The trademarking process can take up to a year or more. If the USPTO makes any rejections, you will have six months to respond to them.
VI. Do You Need A Trademark Lawyer
Do You Need a Trademark Attorney to Protect a Restaurant Name?
No, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office strongly recommends that all applicants work with a trademark attorney – for several reasons. (see below).
Remember, the trademarking process is much more than just filling out online forms (that’s the easiest part of the process). The USPTO will only grant your application after meeting all of their many legal and procedural requirements.
Need to trademark a restaurant name?
Why Should You Work With a Trademark Attorney to Protect Your Restaurant Name?
Filing a trademark application with the USPTO to register your restaurant starts a legal process that can get complicated, expensive, and confusing. Working with a trademark attorney can make the process smoother, faster, and result in better protection.
Also, studies show that working with a trademark attorney can increase your chances of successfully trademarking your brand by over 50%.
If you own a restaurant, it’s probably in your best interest to trademark your restaurant name. Filing a trademark isn’t a simple process, but the protection it affords your brand is worth your time and effort. If you do it correctly, you can secure your brand for years to come.
VII. Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why should you protect your restaurant name and brand?
Protecting your restaurant’s name is important for several reasons, including:
- Solid branding and control over your brand
- Easier expansion/franchising
- Fewer disputes over time
Solid Branding: The goal of a unique name and branding is to distinguish your brand and stand out. The legal rights that come with trademark registration mean that you can control who uses your brand and how it is used. Legally protecting your restaurant name and brand is the surest way to protect what makes your restaurant yours.
Easier Expansion Later: While this may seem hard to imagine for a brand-new restaurant business, most franchises started as a single location — and you set yourself up for growth down the line when you protect your name. When your name is protected now, it’s also protected later when you expand and open additional locations. Remember, the primary legal right that you are granting to your franchisees is the right to use your trademarks to market and sell the goods or services under your brand.
Fewer Copycats: There’s nothing more discouraging than having your ideas stolen. When you don’t take the necessary precautions to protect your Restaurant Name and Brand, you make it all too easy for someone else to steal them. The legal protections that come with trademarks tend to scare away imitators.
2. How do you protect a restaurant name and brand?
The simplest and best way to protect your Restaurant Name and Brand is to acquire nationwide rights as early as possible by trademarking them.
3. What is a trademark?
Trademarks are badges of origin. They identify and distinguish the products or services of one enterprise from those of another.
Any word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies you as the source of your products or services can be a trademark. Brand names, slogans, and logos are all examples of trademarks.
A trademark:
- Identifies you as the source of your goods or services.
- Provides legal protection for your brand.
- Helps you guard against counterfeiting and fraud.
4. Why do you want to trademark a restaurant?
Trademarks identify your business, They are how customers recognize you in the marketplace and distinguish you from your competitors, which is important to establishing a foothold in any market. They help ensure that all of your marketing is to your benefit and not to the benefit of a copycat.
Trademarking your Restaurant Name and Brand would give you the exclusive right to use it and stop others from marketing identical or similar products under the same or a confusingly similar mark. So, for example, only one company can open a Shake Shack, a Taco Bell, or a Jimmy John’s.
Additionally, Nationwide trademark protection is great insurance against have being forced to rebrand.
These protections, and others, help restaurants franchise their brands.
5. What other parts of restaurant brand can you trademark?
Several parts of a restaurant brand are eligible for trademark protection. You can trademark your restaurant name, product names, a logo, and any slogan you use to promote your business. Whether you own a restaurant, a food truck, or an online food delivery service, these brand elements are the face of your brand should be protected.
Brand Names:
McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Dairy Queen, Blue Apron
Product Names:
Big Mac (McDonald’s), Blizzard (Dairy Queen), $5 foot long (Subway)
Logos:
The golden arches (McDonald’s), the red, white and blue domino (Domino’s Pizza), the DQ logo (Dairy Queen) and the blue apron (Blue Apron)
Slogan:
I’m Loving It (McDonald’s), We have the meats (Arby’s), Eat Fresh (Subway)
6. What parts of a restaurant brand cannot be trademarked?
Not everything that makes up your restaurant brand can be trademarked. Recipes cannot be trademarked, although the names of the recipe might. Business models and operating procedures also cannot be trademarked.
7. When should you trademark your restaurant?
Most authorities agree that the best time to trademark a Restaurant Name and Brand is BEFORE opening.
We are one of the few countries that allow you to protect your restaurant’s trademarks before you begin using them. Filing for registration before opening is an opportunity to:
- reserve a name and avoid having to change your name later
- confirm that your name does not infringe on another restaurant with a registered trademark
- complete an important branding task before operations begin.
8. How do I trademark a restaurant name?
Here’s how to start the process to trademark a Restaurant Name and Brand:
- Select a unique name and logo. Read more about how to pick a strong trademark here.
- Check whether anyone else has registered or applied to register the name and logo
- Collect the required information and decide on a trademarking strategy
- Prepare and file your new application (correctly) with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or “USPTO,” for short.
- Navigate the USPTO application review process, which takes several months.
- Use the correct trademark symbol with your channel name. Read more about trademark symbols here.
The USPTO will grant your application and add your trademark to the list of Federal (registered) trademarks IF your application meets all of the requirements of the Federal Trademark Statute. If the USPTO does not initially grant your application (which happens over 80% of the time), you would need to respond to the reasons for the rejection.
9. Can you copyright a restaurant name?
No. You cannot copyright a restaurant name. You can trademark it, however.
Copyrights protect creative works like books, films, or artwork, and prohibits copying without permission. Since restaurant names aren’t creative works, you don’t need to worry about knowing how to copyright your restaurant’s name. Instead, you need to register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as soon as possible to set the table for success.
10. Do you trademark or copyright a restaurant name?
You trademark restaurant’s name. The name for your restaurant serves as a trademark, which identifies the source of a service, including restaurant services, and distinguishes them from those provided by others.
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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).
