If you plan on being in business for any amount of time, you’ll be building a brand.
Brands are important.
Trademarks represent and protect brands.
Trademarks help customers find the products and services that they like. They also help customers recommend products and services to their friends. Plus, trademarks convey stability, trust, and tap the human preference for visuals.
For all of these reasons, trademarks have value. That is why you need to know how to protect yours.
Trademarks can be protected at three levels – common law, State, and Federal. Each offers very different protections with some significant limitations.
Understanding these differences and limitations shows why Federal trademarks are best.
Common law
These trademark rights do not require registration with any governmental agency. They are very limited because they:
extend only as far as the areas where the trademark is actually used;
do not extend to the Internet; and
are easily trumped by State and Federal trademarks.
State trademarks
These trademark rights are granted by respective States. But, like common law rights, they are limited because they only extend to the borders of a State.
Federal trademarks
Federal trademarks provide nationwide protections along with important legal presumptions like ownership and validity. These protections make enforcing your trademark rights easier and more effective.
Here are just a few ways that Federal trademarks offer superior protection.
They Put the Federal Government to Work for You
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will immediately begin rejecting
applications for trademarks that are similar to yours. In fact, the USPTO is legally required to refuse them.
They Come with a Legal Presumption of Ownership in All 50 States
A Federal trademark comes with a nationwide legal presumption of ownership of your trademark, along with an exclusive right to use it and access to Federal courts to protect it.
They Provide Enhanced Protection on Social Media
Social media services like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have policies in place to protect brands against abuse – provided that you can establish ownership. A Federal trademark makes establishing ownership a mere formality.
They Provide Enhanced Protection on the Web
When you secure a domain that includes your trademark, all of the legal protections and presumptions that accompany Federal trademarks apply to your web address.
They are Required to Access Amazon’s Brand Registry
The Amazon Brand Registry is an important and powerful brand protection tool. When you enroll, Amazon will look for and stop trademark violations. Amazon’s Brand Registry is limited to Federal trademarks, however.
Federal Trademarks Make You Stand Out in a Crowd With the ®
Only owners of Federally registered trademarks are legally permitted to use the ® sign. This symbol is an attention grabber, in both the offline and online worlds.
They Reduce Future Trademark Problems
Registration adds your mark to the Federal trademark database, where it will be found by competitors searching for new names. They will have strong incentives to steer far clear of your Federally registered mark or face Federal litigation and money damages.
Trademarks are the foundation of every successful brand. Remember – people have relationships with brands, not products. The single best way to protect your brand is with a Federal trademark registration.
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).