FederickTorres
Uerfaren Gjerrigknark
Ble Medlem: 09 Feb 2023
Innlegg: 9
  
Onsdag 12 Juli 2023, 10:24 |
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Trademark protection in the US dates back to colonial times when American common law recognized some intellectual property rights. This tradition has its traces in history, because many American companies live from their marketing strategies. These companies understand the importance of registering and protecting their trademark to promote their brand.
For this reason, registering a trademark in the US is a fairly quick and inexpensive process compared to other countries, and even unregistered trademarks can benefit from some legal protection if they have already been used in commerce. In this case, you must be able to demonstrate that use of the mark is well established in your interstate business. This is not always easy to prove and it is not cost effective to take a stand against your competitor if you have skipped the registration stage of your trademark.
At the federal level, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPO) administers trademark registration in the United States. Due to the legal value of commercial use of trademarks, it is possible to register in the American market before filing. Nevertheless, it is also possible and often advisable to file the so-called "intent to use" trademark application. You can submit an ITU (Intent-to-Use) request if you make an affidavit of intent. However, be aware (!) that in the event of a lawsuit, you will need to prove your efforts to commercialize your mark soon after the filing date. Later, with a series of specific procedures, you should be able to convert the (ITU application) to the ordinary (Use-in-Commerce application).
Before any application, it is important to conduct a thorough research on possible trademarks that could be confused with your own. Attention! This research is the responsibility of the applicant. USPO offers a search system (Trademark Electronic Search System, TESS) with which this search can be carried out. However, it should be noted that the search engine does not consider trademarks that are not registered at the federal level but are used in commerce, which may prevail even over registered ones.
Descriptive marks can only be protected (so-called weak protection) if they have been considered distinctive due to their commercial use for more than five years. The federal agency sets strict parameters to assess the class of products or services to which your trademark relates. To avoid likelihood of confusion or many other grounds identified by the Office for refusal to register, you should consider seeking legal advice. |
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