Revision Legal’s Traverse City trademark lawyers help Northern Michigan businesses clear, register, and enforce the names, logos, and slogans their customers know. From our office at 444 Cass Street in downtown Traverse City, we handle USPTO applications, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, and federal trademark litigation for breweries, outdoor brands, food producers, and online sellers across the region and the country.
Trademark Services From Our Traverse City Office
A trademark is your brand: the name, logo, slogan, or packaging customers associate with your products or services. Without registration and active protection, a brand is exposed to copycats, confusingly similar competitors, and knockoff listings. As a trademark attorney in Traverse City, our team handles each stage of a mark’s life:
- Clearance searches — Before you print labels or launch a website, we review the USPTO register, state registrations, and common-law uses in the marketplace, and identify the classes your goods and services fall into. See what a trademark class search covers.
- USPTO applications and office actions — We prepare use-based and intent-to-use applications, draft the identification of goods and services, and respond to examiner refusals, including likelihood-of-confusion and descriptiveness refusals.
- TTAB oppositions and cancellations — We file and defend oppositions and cancellation petitions before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Our guide on how to oppose a trademark application explains the 30-day window after publication.
- Enforcement and cease-and-desist letters — We evaluate infringement claims, send and respond to demand letters, and negotiate coexistence and settlement agreements.
- Marketplace takedowns — We report infringing and counterfeit listings through the infringement reporting procedures of Amazon and other online marketplaces, and assist sellers whose listings have been removed.
- Federal trademark litigation — We represent plaintiffs and defendants in infringement, dilution, and unfair competition cases in federal courts.
- Michigan state registration — For marks used only within Michigan, we file state registrations with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
- Maintenance, licensing, and international filings — We track Section 8 and Section 9 deadlines, draft licenses and assignments, and coordinate filings in other countries for brands that sell abroad.
Learn more about our trademark practice, the trademark registration process, and how we handle trademark infringement claims.
Meet Your Traverse City Trademark Lawyer
John Di Giacomo, a founding partner, has served as an adjunct professor of trademark and internet law at Michigan State University College of Law. He has litigated intellectual property and internet law matters in state and federal courts across the United States and before arbitration bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organization. He is admitted in the Western and Eastern Districts of Michigan and has served on the boards of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority, the tech incubator 20 Fathoms, and the Traverse City History Center.
Our trademark paralegal supports the attorneys in preparing, filing, and managing both domestic and international trademark applications.
Why Northern Michigan Businesses Protect Their Brands
The Grand Traverse region is home to breweries, wineries, and cidermakers; outdoor, recreation, and tourism brands; cherry and specialty food producers; and a growing number of e-commerce sellers. Many of these businesses start by selling locally and soon ship nationwide through their own websites and online marketplaces. A name that feels unique in Traverse City may already be in use, or registered, somewhere else, and beverage and food names in particular tend to crowd together around familiar regional words and imagery. Our Traverse City trademark clients have included local craft brewer Right Brain Brewery.
Clearing a mark before investing in packaging, signage, and a website costs far less than rebranding after a cease-and-desist letter arrives. Registration also matters when a problem appears: Amazon Brand Registry, for example, requires an active registered trademark or an eligible pending application, and a federal registration supports enforcement in federal court. Working with a Traverse City trademark lawyer early helps you choose a stronger mark and file it in the right classes the first time.
Where Northern Michigan Trademark Disputes Are Litigated
Federal trademark lawsuits against businesses in Grand Traverse, Antrim, and Leelanau counties are commonly filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, whose Southern Division also includes Benzie, Kalkaska, Charlevoix, and Emmet counties. Appeals from that court go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which weighs likelihood of confusion using the eight factors set out in Frisch’s Restaurants, Inc. v. Elby’s Big Boy of Steubenville, Inc., 670 F.2d 642 (6th Cir. 1982), including the strength of the mark, the relatedness of the goods, and evidence of actual confusion.
Unlike patent and copyright claims, which 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a) keeps out of state court, trademark claims can be heard in either state or federal court. A dispute that also involves Michigan contract or unfair competition claims could be filed in the 13th Circuit Court, which serves Antrim, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties. Oppositions and cancellations, by contrast, are decided by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board rather than a court.
What to Expect: Our Process and Pricing
Most trademark matters with our Traverse City office follow a predictable path:
- Consultation. We learn about your brand, your goods or services, and where you sell, and identify any immediate risks.
- Clearance. We search for conflicting marks and give you a practical assessment of the risk before you commit.
- Filing. We prepare the application, select the classes, and write an identification of goods and services that fits how you actually use the mark.
- Examination. If the USPTO examining attorney issues an office action, we explain the refusal and recommend a response.
- Publication and registration. After publication, third parties have 30 days to oppose or request more time. Once registered, we calendar your maintenance deadlines.
For registration work, Revision Legal uses a hybrid billing approach: an upfront flat fee, with hourly rates as the application proceeds if it needs additional work. TTAB proceedings and litigation are generally billed hourly, and we discuss budget and strategy before any dispute begins. Government fees are separate: the USPTO’s base application fee is $350 per class, with additional per-class surcharges for insufficient information or for using free-form text in place of the ID Manual. Our guide on how much trademark lawyers cost explains these fees in more detail.
Serving Clients Throughout Northern Michigan
From our Traverse City office, we serve clients throughout the region, including Petoskey, Cadillac, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Leland, and the broader Grand Traverse, Antrim, and Leelanau County area. We also represent clients nationwide, and most trademark work can be handled remotely when in-person meetings are not required.
Contact a Trademark Attorney in Traverse City
To talk with a Traverse City trademark lawyer about clearing, registering, or enforcing your brand, call our Traverse City office at 231.714.0100 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.
Revision Legal
444 Cass Street, Suite D
Traverse City, MI 49684
231.714.0100
Traverse City office information, directions & hours
Trademark Questions From Traverse City Businesses
Do I need a federal trademark registration if my business only operates in Northern Michigan?
Not always, but it often makes sense. Common-law trademark rights come from use and are generally tied to the area where you actually do business. A registration on the USPTO’s Principal Register gives nationwide constructive notice of your ownership claim and supports enforcement in federal court. A Michigan state registration is a lower-cost option for purely local marks, but for businesses that sell online or plan to expand, federal registration is worth evaluating early.
How much does it cost to register a trademark?
The USPTO’s base application fee is $350 per class of goods or services, with added per-class surcharges if the application lacks required information or uses the free-form text box instead of the ID Manual. Attorney fees depend on the number of marks and classes and on whether the examiner raises objections. We use a hybrid approach: an upfront flat fee, then hourly rates if the application needs more work.
How long does a federal trademark registration last?
A registration can last indefinitely if the mark stays in use and maintenance filings are made on time. The USPTO requires a Section 8 declaration between the fifth and sixth years after registration, then a combined Section 8 and 9 filing between the ninth and tenth years and every ten years after that. A six-month grace period is available for an added fee. See how long a trademark lasts.
Where would a trademark infringement lawsuit against a Traverse City business be filed?
Federal trademark claims involving Northern Michigan defendants are often filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, whose Southern Division includes Grand Traverse, Antrim, and Leelanau counties. Because trademark claims are not exclusive to federal court, some are brought in the 13th Circuit Court instead. The right forum depends on the claims, the parties, and the relief sought.
Can I meet with a trademark attorney at your Traverse City office?
Yes. Our Traverse City office is at 444 Cass Street, Suite D, Traverse City, MI 49684, and can be reached at 231.714.0100. Clearance, filing, and office action work usually does not require in-person meetings, so many clients work with us by phone, video, and email, but we are glad to meet in person when that is more convenient.
More Practice Areas — Traverse City
Our Traverse City office handles the full range of internet and intellectual property law matters for Northern Michigan clients.