Auburn, Alabama Businesses Use Cohn Legal for Trademark Services
Cohn Legal, PLLC is a trademark law firm focused on providing clients in Auburn, Alabama with legal counsel around trademark law and intellectual property rights. Our attorneys truly relish the opportunity to help startups and entrepreneurs create strong trademarks and ensure they are protected. On a more fundamental level, our main goal is to provide clients with exceptional legal services at cost-effective rates.
Top 5 Questions Auburn Businesses Have About Obtaining a Trademark
What is a trademark clearance search?
A trademark clearance search is used to determine if the trademark you want is available for use. A trademark clearance search consists of searching the following:
- The trademark records of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- State trademark registrations
- Common law sources
- Internet sources
If a trademark that’s similar to the one you want is found in any of the above sources, then you will have to choose a new trademark for yourself.
Can the USPTO alert me if someone is infringing on my trademark?
The USPTO will only register your trademark and keep a record of it in their databases. They have no responsibility when it comes to protecting your trademark against infringement.
It is solely your responsibility as the owner of your trademark to monitor the marketplace and ensure that no one is infringing on your trademark rights. Some trademark attorneys, like Cohn Legal Group, offer trademark monitoring services to help ensure your trademark is protected.
My trademark application is in progress. Do I still need a trademark attorney?
The sooner you hire a trademark attorney, the better it is. However, it’s never “too late” to hire a trademark attorney. Even if you’ve already submitted your application, a trademark attorney can:
- Help respond to any office actions from the USPTO
- Help you appeal a possible rejection of your trademark
- Give advice on other trademarks you may have that should be registered
- Monitor the marketplace to ensure no one is infringing on your trademark rights.
What is the significance of a “priority date”?
The date that you submit your trademark application to the USPTO becomes what is known as your priority date. That means if someone tries to register a trademark that’s similar to yours, but that third-party application arrives at the USPTO after your priority date, then the USPTO prioritizes your application.
That’s one reason why it’s so important to submit your application to register your trademark as soon as possible. The priority date gives your trademark some protection, even while your application is still moving through the process.
Do I need to hire a trademark attorney?
Not every trademark registrant needs an attorney. If you are located in the United States or its territories, then you don’t need to hire an attorney to represent you when dealing with the USPTO. However, the USPTO does strongly recommend you do hire an attorney to ensure you understand your rights and they are adequately protected.
If you are located outside of the United States, then you are required to hire a U.S.-licensed trademark attorney to represent you in all matters involving the USPTO.
Why Trademark Registration Matters for Auburn Businesses
Auburn, Alabama is a big southern city with a small, tight-knit atmosphere. It’s the proud home of Auburn University (Alabama’s biggest University) and the beloved Auburn Tigers, football team. With an exciting nightlife, awesome food, and plenty of outdoor adventures along the Robert Trent Jones Trail, it’s no wonder Forbes identified Auburn as one of the top 10 cities in the United States for small businesses.
Entrepreneurs and startups in the area know what it takes to start a new business venture. There’s product development, business plans, marketing strategy, interviewing new hires, and a thousand other things. However, trademark registration should be one of the first things that get taken care of.
Imagine the following: Dean and Alex recently graduated from Auburn University. The two friends have an idea to go into business together making pickles. Dean has an old family recipe that he’s perfected and thinks it could be successful among consumers.
The friends pool their money together and get started. They purchase the pickling equipment they need and decide for now to set up shop in Dean’s garage. Their new product Southern Boy Pickles. Alex wonders about trademark registration, but Dean says it’s too soon to worry about that. They can take care of that when the business starts turning a profit.
Soon, the two friends are jarring pickles and selling them at local farmer’s markets in the area. Then, things start to take off in unexpected ways. A restauranteur in the area asks the friends to supply his chain of restaurants with pickles. A few local grocery stores want to stock the pickles on their store shelves. Meanwhile, Alex has created a website and is selling jars of pickles to customers all around the country.
Dean and Alex never expected their business to grow so quickly. They start thinking about how to expand their operations when one day, they get some bad news in the mail. Dean opens up a letter that turns out to be a cease-and-desist order.
It turns out that there’s another pickle company in Georgia called Southern Pickle Boys. They believe that the name of Dean and Alex’s company is too similar to theirs. Since the Georgia company trademarked the name 5 years ago, they are within their rights to demand that Dean and Alex shut down their pickle business and not reopen until they’re rebranded their business. The Georgia company even threatens legal action if Dean and Alex don’t meet their demands within 30 days.
This will be a costly and expensive endeavor for Dean and Alex and may put them out of business for good. They decide that it’s time to contact a trademark attorney for advice.
If the two friends had called a trademark attorney at the very beginning of their business venture, they could have avoided this predicament. The attorney would have conducted a clearance search for them and advised them to choose a new name for their business when a name similar to the one they wanted was discovered.
If you have questions about trademark registration, then contact the attorneys at Cohn Legal for a no-cost trademark consultation.
** Cohn Legal, PLLC is not located in Auburn and yet it can assist businesses from Alabama in registering a federal Trademark because trademarks are governed under federal law.