Nike’s whirlwind, Mercedes’ three-pointer and McDonald’s golden arch are important parts of their respective company identities and customer perceptions. Your business logo is no exception. You may have invested a lot of work, creativity and money to design a unique and memorable logo for your company, so of course you should take steps to protect your newly created intellectual property and add that little ™ trademark next to it Mark symbol.
This Crazy Egg guide explains in detail how to use United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Why Trademark Trademarks are Worth
When you drink coffee from a Starbucks cup, based on your previous experience and knowledge of the Starbucks brand, you have very specific expectations for the beverage.
Naturally, Starbucks hopes to protect its brand reputation by prohibiting anyone from using its logo, name, and brand to market its products. The same logic applies to your business logo.
Trademarks protect names, words, symbols, colors, and sounds to distinguish the products of a particular company from those of other companies. When you register a trademark for your logo, you have the right to prohibit others from using logos that are similar to your logo that may confuse consumers.
When you register a trademark with the USPTO, you will get the following rights and protections:
- The right to take action in federal courts against suspected trademark infringement
- Trademark registration announcement
- You legally own the trademark and have the sole right to use it with registered goods or products
- The right to register a trademark in other countries/regions
- Prevent the right to register foreign products that infringe your trademark
In short, registering a trademark for a logo is a very public statement that you own a particular trademark and have the legal protection to exercise that ownership. No one may use your logo without your permission.
In addition, consumers will not ignore this detail. They recognize the trademark symbol and respect the pride of business owners to protect their small businesses and their reputation.
Investment required for trademark registration
Depending on the type of application, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office charges US$250 to US$350 and legal fees for trademark registration. You can register a trademark in your state for only US$50 to US$150, but federal registration provides more comprehensive legal protection. Considering the importance of the logo, this is a worthwhile investment.
The USPTO provides different fee forms, each with different pricing. If you submit online through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), you can choose from two options:
- TEAS Plus for $250
- TEAS standard$350
notes: You may need to pay additional fees based on your intentions, and each class may add $100-125.
Have you applied for a trademark for your logo? excellent! Next, you must maintain your trademark.The cost of maintaining trademarks According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office As described below:
- Submit the use statement after 5 years (Section 8 statement): USD 225 per category (if submitted before the grace period)
- 5 years later to submit the use statement (Section 8 statement) and indisputable statement (Section 15 statement): $425 per category (if submitted before the grace period)
- Submit the use statement and update application every 10 years (combining the Section 8 statement and Section 9 update): $525 per category (if submitted before the grace period)
- Submit an indisputable statement (statement 15): USD 200 per class
If you don’t want to register a trademark yourself, many companies Hire online legal services Or the lawyer will register their logo as a trademark. If this is the case, you will find that you need to pay between US$500 and US$2,000 to prepare a federal trademark application.
6 steps to trademark trademark
Let’s take a look at all the steps involved in registering a trademark for a logo and protecting your intellectual property.
Step 1-Make sure your logo complies with USPTO guidelines
Any logo submitted for a trademark must have been used by the previous applicant. It should not be too similar to existing trademarks.
To avoid being rejected, you should check the online database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for existing trademarks, Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)To cross-check whether your logo is truly unique.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the “possibility of confusion” with another company is one of the most common reasons for rejection of trademark identification applications. The following is a statement from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
“One of the most common reasons for refusal to register is the “possibility of confusion” between the trademark in the application and the previously registered trademark or the pending application with an earlier filing date owned by the other party. If the trademarks are very similar and the goods and/or services in which they are used are so relevant that consumers mistakenly believe that they are from the same source, there may be confusion between the trademarks.“
The United States Patent and Trademark Office rejects any applications that contain offensive content. This means that there are no obscene or rough pictures.
The agency also rejects any petitions it considers misleading. For example, if the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office believes that a logo does not really represent the type of product it claims to sell—or it completely implies another product—it will reject the application.
This makes sense considering that the USPTO is to protect the rights of business owners and ensure the best consumer experience.
Step #2 — Prepare your trademark application
United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Next Generation ID Manual Allow people to search for acceptable goods and service identifiers. Follow the manual to prepare your logo and a written description of the goods and services to which it will be applied. In addition, you must create a logo image using the size and format specified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- The application can include a statement to register a logo in one or more classifications of goods or services. All detailed information about the classification system is on the USPTO trademark website. You can also submit a separate application for each class. Remember, you must pay for each type of goods or services.
- You must submit a “sample” showing the logo you actually use on the goods or services described. For example, you can include a photo of the logo on the product or a screenshot of the logo when promoting your service.
- If you have not used your logo on commercial products, you can still submit Use intention applicationThis will prove that you have the “intention to use” the logo. Before your application is rejected for not using it, you can choose three years or more to bring the product or service with the logo to the market. You must pay an additional fee to complete the ITU application.
Different rules apply to US registration applications for brands that have already been registered in other countries. In this case, it is best to hire a trademark agent to ensure that your application will not be rejected.
Step 3-Submit an application to the USPTO
Once you get permission to use it at the federal level, you can start using your logo. Or, you can register it in one or more states for limited rights.
However, if you want to obtain broader rights across the country, you must apply to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. You can solve this problem in different ways:
- Use TEAS to draft and submit your application online. This method allows you to check the completeness of the application before submitting it and provide an email summary of the application with the serial number. You can use the serial number to track the progress of your application.
- Send your application by post to the Trademark Specialist at PO Box 1451, Alexandria, VA 22313-1451. You will receive the application receipt and serial number within two to three weeks after mailing.
- Send your application by hand or courier to the Trademark Assistance Center, Madison East, Room C 55, Concourse Floor, 600 Alexandria Durrani Street. You will receive a time-stamped receipt and application serial number.
Step 4-Waiting for USPTO’s response
At this stage, you have submitted a trademark application and received a receipt confirmation.The next step is to follow up your application Trademark Status and Document Search (TSDR) database.
Generally speaking, the USPTO takes about 3-4 months to respond, but it may be longer. The entire trademark application process can take six months to one year, and in some cases even longer.
Do you want to know why it takes so long?
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office manually reviews your application to check whether you meet the basic application requirements, and then forwards your application to the examiner. If there are any problems with your application, the agency will notify you.
The examiner carefully reviews each element of your application to determine whether you meet all the legal and procedural requirements for a viable application. They will double-check the redundant trademarks and whether you have correctly classified the product and submitted an appropriate logo sample.
The lawyer will also check whether you have included the appropriate fees.
As you might have guessed, the examiner is the ultimate authority in deciding whether your logo will be registered. If there are minor issues with your application, the lawyer will contact you via email or phone. However, if the problem is more prominent, you will receive a letter called Office Action that outlines the reason for the rejection.
Step #5 — Correct application errors
The USPTO allows you to correct any application issues. However, if your application is rejected due to a serious flaw in the logo or similarity to an existing trademark or application, you must submit a new application.
If you receive the Office Action, you will submit the requested corrections within six months from the date of mailing. Otherwise, the USPTO will mark your application as abandoned.
If your submission still does not meet the examiner’s requirements, you will receive a final rejection of your application.You can refuse to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) If you want, but you have to pay extra for this.
If the examiner approves your application, your logo will be published in the official gazette, indicating that your logo is a trademark to be registered. If someone thinks that your registration might harm their business, they will have 30 days to file a complaint with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
If all goes well and no one has filed any complaints, your logo will officially become a federally registered trademark, providing you with all the rights and protections we discussed before.
Step 6-Maintain your trademark rights
After registration is maintenance.
In order to maintain your protected status, you must submit a copy of Continue to use trademark declaration and trademark renewal Submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office every five years. If you fail to submit this renewal, you still have a six-month grace period to submit. However, if you fail to submit these forms in full, the US Patent and Trademark Office will consider your logo to be abandoned, which means you will lose all legal intellectual property protection.
As long as the logo is still in commercial use, you can renew your trademark as many times as you want. However, if your registration renewal fails, you may need to repeat the entire registration process.
Next step
Once the USPTO has registered your logo, you can implement trademark protection against any infringement.
The company participates in so-called trademark surveillance to ensure that no other company abuses its logo or uses it without its permission. They prevent misuse of their logo and prevent potential applications that provide USPTO with compatible logos.
It is always a good idea to watch out for trademark infringements and claim your rights under trademark protection in case you discover infringement.
With a logo trademark, you can focus on other aspects of running your business. Here are some Crazy Egg guides to help you achieve your business goals:
