A trademark is a valuable tool used to brand your product or service through a name, slogan, design mark, color, or sound. Think McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It,” Nike’s swoosh symbol, or NBCs three-note chime. These catchy trademarks are recognizable to consumers, who seek out your product because they associate the trademark with quality and uniqueness.

Registering your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) protects it from competitors who might try to copy it to confuse consumers. Even worse, they may dilute your trademark by attaching its use to an inferior product or service, affecting your good name. To register or protect this unique piece of intellectual property, contact a Delray Beach trademark lawyer now.

Actual Use and Intent to Use Trademark Applications

Applicants can choose an actual use application or an intent to use application to register a trademark. An actual use application must include specimens showing the mark is associated with particular goods or service. For this application to succeed, the mark must already be in use on packaging, labels, or the product itself, or in use to promote or advertise the product or service. Failing to follow the USPTO’s strict guidelines for trademark display can result in a denial of registration.

Applicants want to be the first to actually use a trademark in association with their product or service. If they are using it, the actual use application is preferable. By filing an intent to use (ITU) application, the owner is communicating a priority of actual use and will maintain the application until the trademark is actually used in commerce, which should be as soon as possible so the application can be approved. Applicants must complete the ITU registration process and use the trademark within six months after the application is acceptable to the USPTO.

Once a trademark is registered and accepted, owners can affix the Registered mark ® to products and advertising, and they are protected in all 50 states. Additionally, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) enacted international criminal penalties for violations of trademarks, mostly for counterfeit luxury items. A Delray Beach trademark attorney takes the guesswork out of registering this valuable intellectual property.

Trademark Dilution

Trademark infringement is the nasty business of profiting from another’s intellectual property. One such way is by dilution, when a famous mark is tarnished or blurred by someone else using it or one like it. Famous trademarks are widely recognized by the public, determined by the court according to 15 United States Code. § 1125. If the court agrees that the mark is famous, federal court action can proceed to determine dilution by blurring or tarnishment.

Tarnishment is the use of a trademark to show the rightful owner in a bad light or to fool consumers by using it on inferior products. Blurring is the use of  a mark similar to a famous one to diminish the uniqueness of the famous one. Our firm boasts some of the most experienced and competent trademark lawyers in Delray Beach and in the country, and can manage all infringement litigation on your behalf.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) functions as a court and neutral party for the USPTO, but mainly its members determine whether to register a trademark. If during the application process, the trademark examining attorney rejects it, and issues a Final Office Action, the decision can be appealed to the TTAB. Appeals are the most common action to come before the board, but they also handle oppositions and cancellations. Our firm helps clients register their trademarks but also protects those marks by routinely appearing before federal judges and the TTAB.

Consult a Delray Beach Trademark Attorney to Protect Your Property

Whether your creative side envisions the perfect slogan, jingle, or design mark to brand the product or service you are marketing, or your trademark is famous and somebody else is copying it, we can help. We can register your trademark to stop usurpers, appeal a denial, or hold copycats accountable when they try to infringe.

Lomnitzer Law focuses on intellectual property law and we pride ourselves in keeping up with new developments and successfully employing ways to represent and protect our clients. If you have questions about an infringement case or a potential trademark you would like to register, call a Delray Beach trademark lawyer now.

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