Tampa, Florida Businesses Use Cohn Legal for Trademark Services
Serving Tampa, Florida companies, Cohn Legal, PLLC is a boutique law firm that focuses on intellectual property protection for startups and entrepreneurs. Our goal is to provide our clients with exceptional legal guidance and support at cost-effective rates. While excellence in legal representation is a given, we take greater pride in our ability to forge lasting bonds with our clients.
Top 7 Questions Tampa Businesses Have About Protecting a Trademark
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a source identifier. It may be a word, logo, slogan, sound, or design that when attached to a good or service, enables consumers to identify the company which produces the good or service.
How do I register a federal trademark?
In order to register your trademark, you will need to fill out an application and submit it to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO.
The examining attorney at the USPTO will evaluate the distinctiveness of your mark and then search the USPTO database to see if there are any existing or pending trademarks that are too similar to yours. If there are any issues with your mark or your application, you will receive an Office Action from the USPTO that will explain what additional information they need or why your mark was rejected.
Assuming examining attorney approves your application, it will be published in the Official Gazette for a 30-day period of “publication.” During this time, any third party with a legitimate claim can submit an “opposition” to the application. If no oppositions are submitted, then your trademark application will be cleared for final registration.
What is a clearance search?
Before you submit a trademark application, you should perform a clearance search to determine if use of your desired trademark may infringe upon the rights of others. There are two types of clearance searches:
1. A preliminary knock-out search, which is a search of the Federal Trademark records.
2. A full search, which includes a knock-out search but also involves looking at state trademark registrations, common law sources, and internet sources.
A trademark attorney can help you perform these searches.
What is a priority date?
The date you submit your application to the USPTO is also known as your priority date. The USPTO will give your application preference if anyone tries to register a trademark similar to yours after your priority date. This is another reason why it is so important to start the registration process as early as possible.
Why should I hire a trademark attorney?
The advice and guidance of a trademark attorney can prove to be invaluable as you seek to register your trademark and enforce your trademark rights. For example, a trademark attorney can:
• Perform a clearance search to ensure that your desired mark is available for use.\
• Submit a trademark application to the USPTO on your behalf.
• Answer any questions raised by the USPTO on your behalf.
• Advise you on what to do if other parties are infringing on your trademark.
• Represent you in court if others are taking legal action against you.
• Help ensure that all required trademark renewal documents are filed on time.
• Monitor the market for any signs of infringement.
These are just a few of the services a trademark attorney can provide. It’s always wise to work with a trademark attorney to ensure your best interests are protected.
When does a trademark expire?
Once registered, trademarks have no expiration date. They can literally last for hundreds of years.
However, you will need to keep up with the renewal deadlines that are set by the USPTO. Your first renewal will come up approximately 5 years after you first registered the trademark. A second renewal will be due about 5 years after the first. All subsequent renewals will be due every 10 years. Hiring a trademark attorney is the best way to ensure that you never miss a renewal deadline.
Should I wait until my business is up and running before registering my trademark?
There’s no need to wait until your business is up and running before you register your trademark. In fact, any experienced trademark attorney will advise you to register your trademark as soon as you know you want to start a business.
If you wait until your business is established to register your mark, you may find that you’re infringing on an existing trademark. That means you’ll find yourself spending time and money to rebrand your business, create new marketing collateral, update product designs, etc. It’s much better to know that you have the rights to your trademark from day 1, so you can invest in your brand and grow your business with confidence.
Why Trademark Registration Matters for Tampa Bay Businesses
A major business hub along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Tampa is an excellent location to start your business. Residents’ preference to see small, independent businesses open up shop in the historic town. If you’re a budding entrepreneur, then Tampa is the right location for you.
Some new small business owners in Tampa are eager to get started, so they look for a way around the trademark registration process. For some, that means doing a quick Google search to ensure that the business name they want is available. However, that’s not an effective alternative to conducting a proper trademark search with the aid of a trademark attorney.
Imagine the following: Bonnie and her husband Bob love cowboy boots and cowboy hats. They decide to start a business in the heart of Tampa selling boots, hats, and other accessories. Both have connections to boot and hat manufacturers and believe that they can supply products that are not currently available in Tampa.
The first thing they do is decide on a name for their new business: Bob and Bonnie’s Boots. A quick Google search doesn’t show anyone else has the name. The couple figure that they are good to go and don’t bother contacting a trademark attorney.
They then get straight to work. They sign the lease on a storefront in the heart of Tampa. They invest in signage for the store, a website, marketing materials, and even pay for advertising on local radio stations.
They are set for their grand opening and couldn’t be more excited. However, a week before they are about to open their doors they receive some unsettling news. There’s actually a store in Miami with a very similar name to theirs. It didn’t show as an exact match on their Google search, but the Miami store trademarked their name 5 years ago. They were well within their right to ask that Bob and Bonnie not open their doors until they rebrand. Bob and Bonnie are devastated and will have to invest more time and money into their venture and delay their grand opening.
If the couple had hired an experienced trademark attorney to conduct a proper search right from the start, rather than relying solely on a Google search, they could have avoided these issues.
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 Tampa and yet it can assist businesses from Florida in registering a federal Trademark because trademarks are governed under federal law.