In some circumstances, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office requires that a person seeking to trademark a business name have a lawyer. The USPTO is the agency that handles the filing of trademarks. This is more accurately called the “registration” of trademarks. Mostly, the circumstances where a lawyer is required involve an owner of a trademark who is a foreign company or national. U.S. trademark attorneys are required in those circumstances. There are also some trademark-related matters that MUST be conducted by U.S. attorneys. An example is either prosecuting or defending an opposition to trademark registration.
In most other circumstances, it is not legally required that a person or business hire a top-tier trademark law firm to register or file their trademark or seek to trademark a business name. However, it is generally unwise to self-trademark. If you try and self-trademark, you must act as your own attorney and handle matters like the following:
- Knowing the rules with respect to what is a trademark and what are prohibited as trademarks in terms of design and words
- Knowing if your trademark functions as a trademark
- Deciding if you are filing for a standard trademark or an intent-to-use trademark
- How to properly disclaim parts of your proposed trademark so as to allow approval of the trademark
- Conducting a trademark clearance search
- Accurately preparing and filing the application with the USPTO
- Responding to correspondence and questions from the USPTO’s Examining Attorney
- Following up with the USPTO and avoiding missed deadlines
- Knowing when you are allowed to start using your trademark if you have filed an intent-to-use trademark
- How to keep your trademark registration valid and legally enforceable
Ffor a business seeking to trademark its business name, there are some practical reasons to hire a trademark attorney. First, there is the matter of an efficient division of labor. You know how to operate your business, and trademark attorneys know how to quickly and effortlessly get a trademark registration. For example, trademark law firms are set up to pay the various USPTO fees simply and easily through law firm accounts. So, why bother with the hassle of trying to self-trademark? Second, the cost of hiring a trademark attorney to get the registration done correctly without mistakes is not high.
Just as importantly, you will need a continuing relationship with a trademark attorney to police against infringement of your trademark after registration. This might involve sending cease and desist letters or infringement litigation. Failure to police the use of your trademark can lead to cancellation. As another example, you will need legal help if someone is cybersquatting on a domain name that is the same as or confusingly similar to your trademark. You will also need help with the maintenance of your registration over the years. Since you will need a trademark attorney after registration, your business might as well have your trademark attorney register the trademark in the first place.
Contact the Trademark Attorneys at Revision Legal For more information, contact the experienced Trademark Lawyers at Revision Legal. You can contact us through the form on this page or call (855) 473-8474.
