Burlington, Vermont Businesses Use Cohn Legal for Trademark Services
Serving clients in Burlington, Vermont, Cohn Legal, PLLC is a boutique law firm that focuses on intellectual property protection for startups and entrepreneurs. We help our clients navigate through the murky waters of fast-paced deals and wordy, convoluted contracts quickly. Our trademark attorneys can jump into existing deals or help you start from day 1. We promise to be here for you when you need us.
Top 4 Questions Burlington Businesses Have About Obtaining a Trademark
What are the benefits of me registering my trademark with the USPTO?
Registering your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has several benefits. For example,
- Your trademark will be listed in the USPTO’s database of registered trademarks.
- Your registration certificate shows that you’re the presumed owner of the trademark. No other proof is needed.
- You have the right to bring a lawsuit against anyone infringing on your trademark in federal court.
- You can use the symbol, ®, with your trademark as a deterrent to others who may consider infringing on your mark.
- You can use your federal trademark as the basis for getting trademark rights in other countries.
What types of trademarks are the most “protectable”?
Trademarks can be thought of in terms of how protectable they are. Typically, the more unique the trademark, the more protectable it is.
The most protectable trademarks are fanciful marks. Fanciful marks are words that are made up for the purpose of serving as trademarks. For example, Pepsi and Oreo are fanciful marks. The words have no meaning outside of their use as a trademark.
The second most protectable trademarks are arbitrary marks. Unlike a fanciful mark, an arbitrary mark is a real word with a definition. However, those words lose that common meaning when applied to a product. Comet for cleanser is one example. Ivory for hand soap is another example.
The third most protectable trademarks are suggestive marks. These marks don’t necessarily describe the product or service, but they do allude to an aspect of the product or service. For example, Turbo Tax is a suggestive mark. The name of this software suggests that you’ll be able to file your taxes quickly.
I have a limited budget. Should I register my logo or company name?
Many startups have limited budgets and can only afford to register one trademark at first. If you are in this situation, it’s best to register the name of your company with a “standard character claim.” That protects the name of your company no matter what font or typeface is used. Once you are able to afford it, you should register your logo with the USPTO next.
What is a clearance search?
Before submitting your trademark application, you should first hire a trademark attorney to conduct a clearance search on your behalf. There are two types of clearance search.
- A preliminary knock-out search is when the attorney checks the USPTO records. If you find that your desired trademark or something similar is already registered with the USPTO by another entity, you’ll need to choose a new trademark.
- A full search includes a knock-out search but also involves a robust search of state trademark databases, common law sources, and internet sources.
Why Trademark Registration Matters for Burlington Businesses
As home to the University of Vermont, Champlain College, and Burlington College—Burlington, Vermont is a bona fide college town with youthful energy. Not only that, it attracts tourists who are eager to visit Lake Champlain, the city’s historical sites, and its vibrant music and arts scene.
There’s no doubt about it. Burlington, Vermont can be a successful location for any new business. New business owners in Burlington know they’ll have to work hard on product development, marketing, business plans, and more. However, they need to make sure that they also register their trademarks with the USPTO sooner rather than later.
Imagine the following: Alina and Cindy are friends in their senior year at the University of Vermont. Alina is a graphic design major and Cindy is a marketing major. They decide to start their own business designing and making fun hats. Alina creates the designs and develops the website while Cindy contacts local vendors who can source the hats and print their designs right on them.
The girls offer baseball caps, winter hats, and bucket hats with cute designs on them. They decide to call their new endeavor Church Street Hats after the famous Church Street Marketplace in Burlington.
Alina asks Cindy if they should register the name of their business with the USPTO. Cindy doesn’t want to spend the money on that right now, so she recommends that they search for the name using Google. No exact matches for Church Street Hats pop up so they decide the name is available for them to use.
Three months later, the two friends are doing brisk business. They are surprised at their success. They are selling hats to customers all over the country. They are just a couple of months away from graduating and they are talking about opening up a brick-and-mortar store in downtown Burlington and maybe even expanding their inventory.
However, the friends get some bad news in the mail before they can get started on the next phase of their plan. It turns out that there’s a clothing boutique on Church Street in Montclair, New Jersey that has a very similar name to the name of Alina and Cindy’s business. The Montclair boutique trademarked their name 15 years ago, so they have every right to send the two friends a cease-and-desist letter demanding that they shut down their website.
Alina and Cindy are devastated. They were completely unaware that something like this might happen. They’re not sure they’ll be able to move forward with their plans to open a physical location.
Conducting a Google search for your desired trademark is not sufficient. A Google search may bring up exact matches, but might not show results that are similar to your desired trademark. If you’re starting a new business, you need to work with a trademark attorney who can conduct a robust clearance search to ensure that your desired trademark is available for use.
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 Burlington and yet it can assist businesses from Vermont in registering a federal Trademark because trademarks are governed under federal law.