Cohn Legal, PLLC represents entrepreneurs, startups, businesses, research-driven ventures, and established brand owners in Ann Arbor and throughout Michigan 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 Ann Arbor or elsewhere in Michigan. The firm represents Michigan businesses remotely in federal trademark matters before the USPTO and TTAB.
Federal Trademark Services for Ann Arbor Businesses
Cohn Legal assists Ann Arbor 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, technology, product, service, software platform, logo, or other brand, 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.
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USPTO Office Action Responses
If the USPTO raises legal or procedural objections to an application, Cohn Legal assists applicants with 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 Anchorage, Alaska
Ann Arbor has a business environment shaped heavily by research, technology, entrepreneurship, healthcare, and its connection to Southeast Michigan’s broader automotive and manufacturing economy. The region supports companies working in advanced automotive and mobility, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and life sciences, research and development, information technology, software, healthcare innovation, advanced manufacturing, and professional services.
For businesses in these sectors, trademarks can become important well before a product or service reaches a mature commercial market.
An Ann Arbor startup may develop a company name while simultaneously creating names for software platforms, medical technologies, research tools, mobility products, data services, consumer applications, or future product lines. An established company may similarly expand into new technologies or services under brands that require separate consideration from the company’s primary corporate name.
Trademark issues can therefore arise during the earliest stages of business development.
Forming a Michigan corporation or limited liability company, purchasing a domain name, reserving social-media accounts, or finding no identical result in an internet search does not necessarily establish that a proposed trademark 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 arise from appearance, sound, pronunciation, meaning, wording, or overall commercial impression.
This can be especially significant for technology and research-driven businesses because the commercial relationship between goods and services may not always be obvious from the company name alone.
A software startup may encounter an earlier mark covering related technology services. A medical-device company may face an existing brand used for related healthcare products. A mobility venture may encounter a mark associated with transportation software or automotive technology. A company commercializing research may select a product name only to discover that another business already possesses potentially relevant trademark rights outside Michigan.
Federal registrations are also not the only potential source of trademark risk.
Depending on the circumstances, businesses can develop relevant common-law trademark rights through marketplace use even without federal registration. A meaningful trademark clearance analysis may therefore extend beyond identifying exact matches in USPTO records.
Timing can be particularly important for innovation-driven companies.
A startup may invest substantial resources in research, engineering, prototyping, regulatory planning, fundraising, software development, websites, product design, packaging, investor materials, conference appearances, and marketing before a product formally enters the marketplace. Discovering a significant trademark conflict after those investments have been made can make changing the brand considerably more disruptive.
For that reason, Cohn Legal approaches trademark clearance as a legal risk analysis rather than simply asking whether an identical name appears in a database.
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Trademark Considerations for Ann Arbor Research, Technology, Life Sciences, and Mobility Companies
Ann Arbor’s concentration of university research, technology commercialization, startups, life sciences companies, software businesses, and advanced mobility ventures creates trademark considerations that are particularly relevant to companies moving from research and development into commercial markets.
The University of Michigan and the broader Ann Arbor entrepreneurial ecosystem regularly support the transition of research discoveries and technologies into startup companies and commercial products. That process can involve several different forms of intellectual property, each serving a different purpose.
Patent protection may address an invention or technological process. Copyright may protect particular expressive works or software code. Trade-secret protection can apply to qualifying confidential information. A license may authorize the use of particular intellectual property.
Trademark law addresses a different question: what brand identifies the source of the resulting product or service in the marketplace?
A technology company may therefore need to consider protection for more than its corporate name.
It may eventually use separate marks for its principal product, software platform, diagnostic technology, mobile application, research service, product family, or other commercial offering. Logos and design marks may create additional trademark considerations.
For companies commercializing technology obtained through a university, research institution, acquisition, or licensing arrangement, ownership of the underlying technology should also not automatically be treated as ownership of every name or brand associated with that technology.
The applicable agreements and circumstances should be reviewed to determine what naming, branding, trademark, and other rights are actually being transferred or licensed.
Trademark strategy can therefore become part of commercialization planning rather than something considered only after a product has launched.
This is particularly relevant where a startup expects a lengthy development period. A life sciences company may spend years developing a product before full commercialization. A mobility company may need substantial testing and engineering. A software or AI startup may be building a platform and raising capital before a public release.
Where the legal requirements are satisfied, an intent-to-use trademark application may allow an applicant with a bona fide intention to use a proposed mark in commerce to begin the federal application process before qualifying commercial use has commenced.
Evaluating trademark availability early can also provide an opportunity to change a proposed name before it has been incorporated extensively into investor materials, websites, software interfaces, packaging, prototypes, conference presentations, or other business assets.
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Michigan Business Registration vs. Federal Trademark Registration
Registering a corporation, limited liability company, assumed name, or other business filing in Michigan 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 concerns words, names, symbols, designs, logos, slogans, and other identifiers used to distinguish the source of particular goods or services.
Michigan also maintains its own state-level trademark and service-mark registration system through the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Michigan’s Corporations Division processes applications for registration of trademarks and service marks under state law.
State trademark registration and federal registration through the USPTO are separate systems.
As a result, approval or availability of a business name in Michigan does not necessarily mean that the same name is available for use or registration as a federal trademark.
Another party may possess federal trademark rights or earlier common-law rights in the same or a confusingly similar mark.
An Ann Arbor company preparing to invest substantially in a business name, technology platform, product, service, software application, medical innovation, mobility brand, or other commercial identity should therefore evaluate trademark availability separately from business-entity registration, domain-name availability, and social-media-handle availability.
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Common Trademark Questions From Anchorage Businesses
Can an Ann Arbor business obtain a federal trademark registration?
Yes, assuming the applicable requirements of federal trademark law are satisfied.
Federal trademark registration is administered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office rather than by the State of Michigan.
An application may be filed based on qualifying existing use of a mark in commerce. In appropriate circumstances, a business that has not yet launched may instead file based on a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce.
For an Ann Arbor startup developing a new technology, software platform, product, or service, an intent-to-use application can sometimes allow the registration process to begin while commercialization efforts are still underway.
If my Ann Arbor business serves customers primarily in Michigan, can I still obtain a federal trademark?
Potentially, yes.
Federal trademark registration requires qualifying use in commerce, but that does not necessarily mean a company must physically sell goods or provide services in two different states.
Whether particular activity constitutes qualifying commerce depends on the nature of the goods or services and the business’s actual commercial activities.
For example, a business operating from Ann Arbor may interact with customers from outside Michigan, provide services through the internet, sell goods through interstate channels, or otherwise participate in commerce that falls within federal trademark law.
If qualifying use has not yet commenced, an eligible applicant may also consider an intent-to-use application based on a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce.
Does registering my company name in Michigan mean I own the trademark?
Not necessarily.
Business-entity registration and trademark protection address different legal questions.
Approval or availability of a company name through Michigan’s business-registration system does not constitute a determination by the USPTO that the name is available for federal trademark registration. It also does not necessarily establish that using the name will not conflict with another party’s existing trademark rights.
Michigan additionally maintains a state trademark-registration system, but state trademark registration and federal trademark registration remain separate forms of protection.
Trademark clearance should therefore be evaluated independently from forming a corporation or LLC, registering an assumed name, obtaining a domain name, or securing social-media accounts.
If my startup licenses university technology, does that automatically give us rights to the product name?
Not necessarily.
A license to use patented technology, software, research, know-how, or other intellectual property does not automatically establish that the licensee owns every trademark or brand associated with the technology.
Trademark ownership and branding rights depend on the particular facts and agreements involved.
A commercialization agreement may address trademarks expressly, may grant particular naming rights, or may deal only with patents, copyrights, technology, or other intellectual property.
A startup should therefore determine separately who owns or controls the proposed company name, product name, software-platform name, logo, or other commercial identifier that will be used in the marketplace.
Before investing substantially in a new product brand, the company should also consider whether third parties possess potentially conflicting trademark rights.
Should I conduct a trademark search before launching a technology or product?
In most cases, evaluating trademark availability before making a substantial investment in a new brand is prudent.
A meaningful trademark search should not focus only on exact matches.
Potential conflicts may involve marks that differ in spelling, wording, appearance, pronunciation, meaning, or overall commercial impression when associated with related goods or services.
Depending on the circumstances, a clearance analysis may consider pending and registered federal marks, potentially relevant marketplace use, business names, domains, state records, and other sources of trademark rights.
This can be particularly important for Ann Arbor startups that may spend substantially on engineering, development, fundraising, websites, software, packaging, regulatory work, or market-launch activities before a product is commercially introduced.
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Can I file a trademark application before launching my Ann Arbor startup?
Potentially, yes.
A Section 1(b) intent-to-use application permits an applicant with a bona fide intention to use a mark in commerce to begin pursuing federal registration before qualifying commercial use has commenced.
The applicant must ultimately satisfy the applicable use requirements before registration can issue.
For research-driven startups, this can be particularly useful because product development and commercialization may occur over a substantial period of time.
An early trademark filing may allow brand issues to be considered before substantial resources have been committed to a particular company, product, platform, or service name.
What happens if the USPTO refuses my trademark application?
A USPTO Office Action does not necessarily mean that an application is finished.
An Office Action identifies substantive or procedural issues that must be addressed before the application can proceed.
Common substantive issues include likelihood of confusion under Section 2(d) of the Lanham Act and mere descriptiveness under Section 2(e)(1). Applications may also encounter issues involving specimens, identification of goods and services, disclaimers, ownership, application formalities, and other requirements.
Cohn Legal represents applicants in evaluating and responding to both substantive and procedural USPTO Office Actions.
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Do I need a trademark attorney located in Michigan?
No.
Federal trademark applications and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board are governed by federal law and administered through the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An Ann Arbor business therefore does not need to retain an attorney who maintains a physical office in Michigan merely because the business is located there.
Cohn Legal represents clients throughout the United States in federal trademark matters, including businesses, founders, researchers, and other brand owners located in Ann Arbor and elsewhere in Michigan.
Consultations and ongoing representation for clients outside the firm’s physical office locations are generally conducted remotely.
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 typically arises when a party challenges a pending trademark application after the mark has been published for opposition. A cancellation proceeding generally involves an effort to cancel an existing federal trademark registration on one or more legally recognized grounds.
TTAB proceedings can involve pleadings, discovery, interrogatories, document requests, depositions, evidentiary disputes, motions practice, 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 trademark infringement, a Board proceeding can have substantial consequences for 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.
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Federal Trademark Experience
USPTO
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
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 Ann Arbor and elsewhere in Michigan.
Why Ann Arbor Businesses Work With Cohn Legal
Cohn Legal focuses substantially on federal trademark prosecution, strategy, enforcement, and disputes.
The firm works with entrepreneurs, emerging companies, established businesses, research-driven ventures, technology companies, and international brand owners on matters ranging from pre-launch trademark clearance and USPTO applications to Office Actions, TTAB proceedings, enforcement, and broader portfolio strategy.
For Ann Arbor businesses, trademark planning may also intersect with research commercialization, startup formation, fundraising, technology licensing, product development, software launches, healthcare innovation, mobility technologies, and expansion into markets beyond Michigan.
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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 — Trademarks
Official information concerning federal trademark applications, registrations, maintenance, searching, and USPTO procedures.
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP)
USPTO guidance concerning the examination and prosecution of federal trademark applications.
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 (TBMP)
Procedural guidance concerning practice before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Lanham Act — 15 U.S.C. Chapter 22
The principal federal statutory framework governing trademarks and federal trademark registration in the United States.
Michigan Trademark, Service Mark & Insignia — Michigan LARA
Official information from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs concerning Michigan trademark and service-mark registration.
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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