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Cohn Legal, PLLC represents entrepreneurs, startups, businesses, and established brand owners in Reno and throughout Nevada in federal trademark matters before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
Our trademark practice includes brand clearance, federal trademark applications, USPTO Office Action responses, trademark oppositions and cancellations, enforcement and defense, trademark assignments and licensing, international trademark protection, and broader trademark portfolio strategy.
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Cohn Legal does not maintain a physical office in Reno or elsewhere in Nevada. The firm represents Nevada businesses remotely in federal trademark matters before the USPTO and TTAB.
Federal Trademark Services for Reno Businesses
Cohn Legal assists Reno businesses throughout the trademark lifecycle, from evaluating a proposed brand before launch through federal registration, prosecution, enforcement, and contested proceedings.
Trademark Clearance Searches
Before substantial resources are committed to a new company name, product, service, logo, technology, hospitality concept, consumer brand, or other commercial identity, Cohn Legal can evaluate potentially conflicting trademark rights and assess risks associated with adoption and registration.
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Federal Trademark Applications
Cohn Legal prepares and prosecutes federal trademark applications before the USPTO, including applications based on existing use in commerce and bona fide intent to use a mark in the future.
LEARN ABOUT FEDERAL TRADEMARK REGISTRATION
USPTO Office Action Responses
If the USPTO raises legal or procedural objections to an application, Cohn Legal assists applicants in evaluating the refusal and developing an appropriate response.
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Trademark Oppositions and Cancellations
Cohn Legal represents trademark applicants and owners in contested proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, including opposition and cancellation matters.
Trademark Enforcement and Defense
The firm advises trademark owners and accused parties regarding cease-and-desist demands, infringement issues, enforcement strategy, potential defenses, settlement, and related trademark disputes.
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Trademark Assignments, Licensing, and Portfolio Matters
Cohn Legal assists businesses with ownership transfers, licensing arrangements, coexistence and consent agreements, international protection, and development of broader trademark portfolios.
Trademark Protection for Businesses in Reno, Nevada
Reno has developed a diversified business environment extending beyond its longstanding tourism and hospitality economy. Businesses throughout Reno and Northern Nevada operate in industries including advanced manufacturing, technology, logistics, engineering, clean technology, professional services, healthcare and life sciences, software and hardware development, outdoor recreation, tourism, and consumer-facing businesses.
For businesses in these sectors, a company name, product name, service brand, logo, slogan, or other source identifier can become an important commercial asset.
Trademark issues often arise well before a Reno business files an application with the USPTO. A company may form a Nevada entity, reserve a business name, purchase a domain, obtain social-media accounts, commission a logo, develop packaging, or begin advertising before determining whether the proposed mark presents a meaningful trademark risk.
None of those steps necessarily establishes that the brand is legally available.
Trademark conflicts also do not require two marks to be identical. The USPTO may refuse registration when an applied-for mark is sufficiently similar to an earlier mark and the respective goods or services are sufficiently related that consumers may mistakenly believe they originate from the same source. Similarity can involve appearance, pronunciation, wording, meaning, or overall commercial impression.
For that reason, businesses preparing to invest substantially in a new brand may benefit from evaluating trademark availability before committing significant resources to marketing, packaging, signage, software development, product launches, websites, or other branded assets.
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Trademark Considerations for Reno Technology, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Consumer Businesses
Reno’s economic diversification creates trademark issues across several different commercial environments.
Technology and software businesses may develop company names, software platforms, applications, subscription services, and product families that operate well beyond Nevada. Because technology companies often expand rapidly and use their brands through websites, applications, and interstate commercial relationships, trademark clearance and filing strategy can become important relatively early in the development of a new venture.
Advanced manufacturing and clean-technology companies may use trademarks for finished products, components, technologies, equipment, product lines, and related services. A business may therefore need to distinguish between patent protection for technological inventions and trademark protection for the names and brands under which those technologies are commercialized.
Reno’s logistics and distribution activity can also create trademark considerations that extend beyond Nevada. Companies involved in transportation, warehousing, distribution, supply-chain services, and related operations may serve customers or move goods across multiple states while building service brands that are used in interstate commerce.
Tourism, hospitality, entertainment, outdoor-recreation, and consumer businesses face a different set of branding concerns. Hotels, restaurants, events, recreation companies, retailers, beverage and food businesses, and other consumer-facing ventures often invest heavily in names, logos, signage, websites, merchandise, packaging, and advertising. Discovering a trademark conflict after those investments have been made can make rebranding considerably more disruptive.
For startups and businesses that have selected a brand but have not yet begun qualifying use, a federal intent-to-use application may provide a way to begin the trademark application process based on a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce.
That can be particularly useful when a business is already investing in product development, software, equipment, packaging, signage, websites, facilities, marketing campaigns, distribution arrangements, or other significant branded assets.
LEARN ABOUT INTENT-TO-USE TRADEMARK APPLICATIONS
Nevada Business Registration vs. Federal Trademark Registration
Registering a corporation, limited liability company, business name, or other entity filing in Nevada is not the same as obtaining federal trademark protection.
Business registration generally concerns the legal identity or name under which a company operates. Trademark law addresses words, names, symbols, designs, slogans, and other identifiers used to distinguish the source of particular goods or services.
Nevada also maintains a separate state system for trademarks, trade names, and service marks through the Nevada Secretary of State.
State registration and federal USPTO registration are separate systems.
The availability of a company name through Nevada’s business-registration system does not necessarily mean that the name is available for federal trademark registration. Similarly, obtaining a Nevada trademark or service-mark registration does not establish that another party lacks superior federal or common-law trademark rights.
A Reno business preparing to invest significantly in a company name, technology brand, product, service, hospitality concept, consumer product, software platform, or other commercial identity should therefore evaluate trademark availability separately from entity registration, state trademark registration, domain availability, and social-media accounts.
LEARN ABOUT FEDERAL TRADEMARK REGISTRATION
Common Trademark Questions From Reno Businesses
If I only provide services in Reno, can I still obtain a federal trademark?
Potentially, yes.
Federal trademark registration generally requires qualifying use in commerce, but that does not mean a business must physically provide its services in at least two states.
The applicable federal standard is broader and depends on whether the relevant activity constitutes commerce that Congress may regulate. Depending on the circumstances, a business operating from a single location may engage in qualifying commerce by serving interstate customers, conducting business through interstate channels, providing services to travelers, or otherwise participating in commerce extending beyond purely local activity.
That issue can be particularly relevant to Reno tourism, hospitality, technology, e-commerce, logistics, professional-services, and other businesses whose commercial relationships extend beyond Nevada.
If qualifying use has not yet commenced, an intent-to-use application may allow an eligible applicant with a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce to begin the federal application process before launch.
Does registering my business name in Nevada mean I own the trademark?
No.
Registering a business entity or obtaining approval for a business name in Nevada does not necessarily establish trademark rights or mean that the name is available for federal trademark registration.
Business-name availability and trademark availability involve different legal considerations.
A company may therefore obtain a Nevada entity name and later discover an earlier trademark owned by another party covering related goods or services.
Should I conduct a trademark search before launching a Reno business or product?
For a brand that will receive substantial investment, clearance before launch can help identify potential conflicts before resources are committed to the name.
A trademark search may consider federal registrations and applications as well as other potentially relevant uses. The legal analysis generally involves more than determining whether an identical mark appears in the USPTO database.
The relevant question is often whether another mark is sufficiently similar, and the respective goods or services sufficiently related, to create a likelihood of consumer confusion.
Can I file a trademark application before launching my business?
Potentially.
Federal trademark law permits an applicant with a bona fide intention to use a mark in commerce to file an intent-to-use application before qualifying use begins.
An intent-to-use filing does not eliminate the eventual use requirement. Before registration can issue, the applicant generally must establish qualifying use and satisfy the applicable USPTO requirements.
For Reno startups, technology companies, manufacturers, consumer brands, and hospitality concepts, this can provide a way to begin seeking federal protection while products, services, software, facilities, packaging, or marketing materials are still being developed.
Does forming a Nevada LLC protect my brand throughout the United States?
Not by itself.
Forming a Nevada LLC establishes a legal business entity under Nevada law. It does not automatically create nationwide trademark protection for the company’s name, products, services, or brands.
Trademark rights arise under a separate body of law and should be evaluated independently from business formation.
What happens if the USPTO refuses my trademark application?
A USPTO Office Action does not necessarily mean that an application is finished.
An examining attorney may raise substantive or procedural issues, including a likelihood-of-confusion refusal, descriptiveness refusal, specimen issue, identification issue, disclaimer requirement, or other objection.
The appropriate response depends on the particular refusal and the facts surrounding the application.
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LEARN ABOUT SECTION 2(d) REFUSALS
What if another company files a confusingly similar trademark?
Depending on the circumstances and procedural posture, a trademark owner may have several potential options.
If a conflicting application is still pending, it may become possible to oppose registration before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. If a conflicting mark is already registered, a cancellation proceeding may be available in appropriate circumstances.
Separate infringement or enforcement issues may also arise outside the TTAB.
Do I need a trademark attorney located in Nevada?
No. Federal trademark applications and TTAB proceedings are federal matters.
Cohn Legal represents businesses throughout the United States before the USPTO and TTAB and can represent Reno and Nevada businesses remotely.
Cohn Legal does not maintain a physical office in Nevada.
Trademark Opposition and Cancellation Proceedings
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board is the administrative tribunal within the USPTO responsible for deciding certain disputes concerning the right to register or maintain a federal trademark registration.
Cohn Legal represents both trademark applicants and trademark owners in TTAB opposition and cancellation proceedings.
An opposition generally arises when a party challenges a pending trademark application after publication. A cancellation proceeding generally involves an effort to cancel an existing federal registration on one or more legally recognized grounds.
TTAB proceedings can involve pleadings, discovery, document requests, interrogatories, depositions, motions practice, evidentiary disputes, summary judgment, testimony, trial briefing, settlement negotiations, and other contested issues.
Although the TTAB generally determines rights relating to federal trademark registration rather than awarding monetary damages for infringement, a Board proceeding can materially affect a company’s ability to register, maintain, or expand an important brand.
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Meet Trademark Attorney Avraham S.Z. Cohn
Avraham S.Z. Cohn, Esq.
Managing Partner, Cohn Legal, PLLC
Avraham S.Z. Cohn represents entrepreneurs, startups, established companies, and international businesses in federal trademark matters.
His practice includes trademark clearance and registrability analysis, federal trademark applications, responses to USPTO refusals, trademark oppositions and cancellations before the TTAB, cease-and-desist matters, trademark enforcement and defense, coexistence and consent agreements, assignments, licensing, international trademark protection, and portfolio strategy.
Mr. Cohn regularly represents trademark applicants and owners before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
VIEW AVRAHAM S.Z. COHN’S FULL BIOGRAPHY
Federal Trademark Experience
USPTO
Federal Trademark Prosecution
Trademark applications, Office Action responses, Statements of Use, extensions, post-registration matters, and related USPTO proceedings.
TTAB
Trademark Oppositions & Cancellations
Representation of trademark applicants and owners in contested proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Trademark Enforcement
Protection and Defense of Brand Rights
Cease-and-desist matters, infringement issues, settlement negotiations, coexistence agreements, and related enforcement strategy.
Nationwide
Federal Trademark Representation
Representation of businesses throughout the United States in federal trademark matters, including clients located in Reno and elsewhere in Nevada.
Why Reno Businesses Work With Cohn Legal
Trademark matters can involve substantially more than completing and submitting an application.
Cohn Legal assists clients with evaluating proposed brands before launch, conducting trademark clearance, developing filing strategies, responding to substantive USPTO refusals, navigating TTAB proceedings, enforcing established trademark rights, defending against infringement allegations, negotiating trademark-related agreements, and managing growing trademark portfolios.
For Reno businesses, trademark planning may intersect with technology, advanced manufacturing, logistics and distribution, clean technology, tourism and hospitality, outdoor recreation, professional services, consumer products, e-commerce, and expansion into markets outside Nevada.
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Federal Trademark Resources
Businesses seeking additional information about federal trademark protection may consult the following primary legal and governmental resources.
United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office – Trademarks
Official information concerning federal trademark applications, registrations, maintenance, searching, and USPTO procedures.
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP)
USPTO guidance concerning the examination and prosecution of federal trademark applications.
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB)
Official USPTO information concerning trademark oppositions, cancellations, appeals, and other Board proceedings.
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP)
Procedural guidance concerning practice before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051 et seq.
Lanham Act – 15 U.S.C. Chapter 22
The principal federal statutory framework governing trademarks and federal trademark registration in the United States.
Nevada Secretary of State
Nevada Secretary of State — Trademarks, Trade Names & Service Marks
Nevada’s Secretary of State administers the state’s system for trademarks, trade names, and service marks.
About the Author
Avraham S.Z. Cohn, Esq.
Managing Partner, Cohn Legal, PLLC
Avraham S.Z. Cohn represents businesses and entrepreneurs in federal trademark prosecution, trademark enforcement and defense, and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
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Written and reviewed by Avraham S.Z. Cohn, Esq.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Speak With a Trademark Attorney
If you are launching a new brand, preparing a federal trademark application, responding to a USPTO refusal, evaluating a potential trademark conflict, or involved in a trademark opposition or cancellation proceeding, Cohn Legal can review the matter and discuss potential next steps.
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