Just How Different Does My Trademark Have to Be from One That Is Already Registered? **Attorney Advertising**
As an Intellectual Property attorney and small business owner, I know how difficult it can be to settle on a trademark that accurately depicts your business or brand. I also know how frustrating it is to ultimately choose a trademark and then discover that there are other trademarks registered with the United States Patent and […]
How Can I Change My Trademark’s Ownership Information? **Attorney Advertising **
There are many reasons why a trademark holder may need to formally change the trademark’s ownership information with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The most common scenarios and instructions for carrying out such changes are listed below. Change in Legal Name When the owner of a trademark changes his or her name, that […]
Trademark Denied: Appeals of Trademark Final Refusals **Attorney Advertising**
The hardest part of registering a trademark is usually coming up with a unique trademark in the first place. A trademark is a word or symbol that should distinguish your company, product, or service from all others. Once you have chosen a name to represent your brand, the next step is to register your trademark […]
Memes and Trademarks: It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Hurt **Attorney Advertising **
Memes come in the form of humorous videos, graphics, or texts that are then shared and spread rapidly by internet users. And we’ve all giggled at a meme or two, but the person who developed the image or content that’s being altered or made fun of in the meme probably finds this less humorous. They […]
3-D Printing, Copyright, and Trademark Law **Attorney Advertising **
3-D printers have come a long way, and now they’re small enough and affordable enough for individual artists to have their own. This gives the freedom to make two-dimensional computer-assisted drawings (CAD) into three-dimensional resin objects. The IP implications of this, however, are confusing and laws may need to catch up. So until intellectual property […]
Does a Registered Trademark Expire? ** Attorney Advertising **
Obtaining a trademark for your business name, tagline, or logo is not a “one and done” process. Over the years, you will need to renew your trademark and complete a number of maintenance steps in order to keep your trademark active and alive. In general, trademarks are valid for 10 years, but there are additional […]
What You Can Do to Avoid Trademark Dilution **Attorney Advertising**
A strong trademark is likely to keep your product from being confused with another, but it can still cause harm to your brand if someone else uses your trademark to sell something unrelated to your product or service. You may be on the lookout for others who may be infringing on your trademark but, it […]
It’s More than just the Words, Colors Matter in Trademarks, Too **Attorney Advertising**
There’s more to a trademark than just a name. What do Tiffany blue, Motorola magenta, Owens Corning pink, Cadbury purple, UPS brown, and Barbie pink have in common? All these colors are trademarked. When colors are specifically associated with a certain company, in a certain industry, offering a certain product they can be registered part […]
Is Your Trademark Distinctive Enough? **Attorney Advertising **
A trademark may be meaningful. It may be unique, or at least unique to you. It may have a backstory. It may be readily recognizable to your customers. However, if you haven’t registered it yet, you may not know whether it’s distinctive enough to be registered. There are ways to tell whether your trademark is […]
So Much Beer! So Few Names. | New York and Charleston Trademark Lawyer
The craft beer industry is booming! It seems as though new microbreweries are popping up every day. Going into a store for beer requires its own definition of terms and an hour or more of contemplation and browsing time. With this growth comes a high demand for unique brewery and beer names – and an […]