Gainesville, Florida Businesses Use Cohn Legal for Trademark Services
Cohn Legal, PLLC is a boutique law firm that focuses on intellectual property protection for startups, new business owners, and entrepreneurs in Gainesville, Florida. We strive to provide our clients with outstanding legal guidance and services at cost-effective rates. Our trademark attorneys love working with clients to create strong brands from the ground up.
Top 7 Questions Gainesville Businesses Have About Obtaining a Trademark
Should I hire an attorney if I’ve already filed my trademark application with the USPTO?
If you’ve already submitted a trademark application to the USPTO, there are still plenty of reasons to hire a trademark attorney. An attorney can help you respond to office actions, or tell you how to proceed if your application is denied.
A trademark attorney can also give advice on how to protect other pieces of intellectual property such as a logo or a product name. If your trademark application is approved, then your attorney can help devise a strategy to prevent others from infringing on your trademark rights. And, of course, a trademark attorney will represent you in any legal disputes regarding your trademarks.
Can I register my website’s domain name or URL as a trademark?
A domain name or a URL can be registered as a trademark, but only when it’s used to identify and distinguish services or products. For example, www.1-800-Flowers.com can be registered as a trademark because it is a URL, but is also a name of a flower delivery service. You wouldn’t be allowed to simply register your domain name as a trademark.
What is my priority date and why is it important?
Your priority date is the date that you submit your trademark application to the USPTO. The USPTO will give your application priority over anyone filing an application after you.
In what ways, can a trademark attorney help me protect my rights?
A trademark attorney can:
- Help you submit an accurate and error-free trademark application to the USPTO
- Take legal action against other parties who may infringe on your trademark
- Ensure that all required maintenance documents are filed on time
- Monitor the marketplace to ensure no one is infringing on your mark
- Provide ongoing legal counsel and advice regarding your intellectual property
These are just a few examples of the services a trademark attorney can provide.
How long does a trademark last?
Once your trademark is registered, it can last for as long as you want it to. You just need to submit the proper maintenance documents with the USPTO by the required due dates.
Your first maintenance document is due approximately 5 years after you register your trademark. Your second maintenance document is due approximately 5 years after the first. All subsequent maintenance documents are due every 10 years after that.
Failure to keep up with these deadlines and requirements may cause your trademark to be canceled. The USPTO will send reminders. However, hiring a trademark attorney to handle the submission of these documents on your behalf is the best way to ensure that you never miss a deadline.
I’m just a one-person operation. Is it necessary for me to concern myself with trademark registration?
Every business, even one-person operations, should take the appropriate steps to register their trademarks with the USPTO. A strong trademark gives small businesses the ability to fight back if a third-party decides to infringe on their trademark rights.
How do I determine if my desired trademark is available for use?
To make sure that the trademark you want is available for use, your best option is to hire a trademark attorney who can conduct a clearance search on your behalf. There are two parts of a clearance search.
- A preliminary knock-out search. In this search, an attorney would research the Federal Trademark records.
- A full search. If nothing is found in the knock-out search, the attorney would then check state trademark registrations, common law sources, and Internet sources.
If a mark similar to your desired mark is identified in a clearance search, then you’ll have to choose a new trademark. This can be frustrating, but it’s important that you have this information before you submit a trademark application to the USPTO and pay the required fees.
Why Trademark Registration Matters for Gainesville Businesses
With so much to do and see in Gainesville, it’s easy to understand why entrepreneurs are coming to the region to start their new businesses. As they start their new ventures, however, they need to make sure that they work with trademark attorneys who can help them register their trademarks with the USPTO.
Imagine the following: Brittney recently graduated from the University of Florida as a chemistry major. As a longtime resident of the sunshine state, she knows how important it is to protect your skin from the sun. She’s been working with a few partners to develop a new line of sunscreen that promises to last longer and provide stronger protection than any other sunscreen on the market currently.
Brittney wants to call her new product Sun Shield. Brittney and her partners understand how important it is to ensure that they are not infringing on anyone else’s trademark. So, her next step is to contact a trademark attorney.
Brittney’s trademark attorney conducts a full clearance search for the name Sun Shield. It turns out that there’s another skincare company out there that has a pending application to trademark the name Sun Shield for one of their products. Brittney is disappointed that she has to come up with a new name for her product, but is also relieved that she took the time to contact a trademark attorney before she submitted a trademark application with the USPTO.
The next name Brittney and her team come up with are Liquid Shade. Once again, the trademark attorney conducts a clearance search. This time, it looks like no one else has registered the name. They move ahead with submitting a trademark application with the USPTO. After 12 months, the trademark is approved, and they’re ready to go to market.
Brittney made a wise decision to work with a trademark attorney right from the start. It saved her countless hours of work, not to mention frustration.
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 Gainesville and yet it can assist businesses from Florida in registering a federal Trademark because trademarks are governed under federal law.