Cohn Legal, PLLC represents entrepreneurs, startups, businesses, technology companies, and established brand owners in Chicago and throughout Illinois 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 Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois. The firm represents Illinois businesses remotely in federal trademark matters before the USPTO and TTAB.
Federal Trademark Services for Chicago Businesses
Cohn Legal assists Chicago 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, software platform, technology, 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 Chicago, Illinois
Chicago supports a large and diverse business community spanning technology and innovation, finance and fintech, life sciences, manufacturing, food innovation, transportation and logistics, professional services, and numerous consumer-facing industries. World Business Chicago identifies many of these sectors among the region’s principal industries and areas of economic strength.
For businesses operating in these sectors, trademark considerations can arise well before a product or service reaches the broader marketplace. A company may be developing not only its corporate identity but also individual product names, technology-platform brands, software names, service brands, product-family marks, logos, and names for future commercial offerings.
Trademark issues should therefore be considered before substantial investments are made in a proposed brand.
A Chicago startup may form an Illinois business entity, register a domain name, reserve social-media accounts, begin developing a website, raise capital, create product prototypes, sign commercial agreements, or commission packaging before determining whether its proposed name presents a trademark risk. None of those steps necessarily establishes that the mark is legally available for use or federal registration.
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 believe they originate from the same source. Similarity may arise from appearance, pronunciation, meaning, wording, or overall commercial impression.
These issues can become particularly important in a diversified commercial market such as Chicago. A technology company developing a software platform, for example, may encounter an earlier mark covering related technology or business services even though the names are not identical. A food company launching a new consumer brand may discover earlier rights associated with related products. A manufacturer introducing a branded product line may encounter rights held by a company operating outside Illinois.
Federal registrations are also not the only potential source of trademark risk.
Depending on the circumstances, another business may possess relevant common-law rights arising from actual marketplace use even without owning a federal registration. A meaningful trademark clearance analysis may therefore need to look beyond exact matches appearing in the USPTO database.
Timing can be especially important for businesses preparing for expansion. Companies may commit substantial resources to product development, fundraising, manufacturing, packaging, websites, distribution, trade shows, advertising, or marketing before formally launching a product or service.
Discovering a serious trademark conflict after those investments have been made can make a rebrand 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 Protection for Chicago Technology, Finance, and Growth Companies
Chicago’s commercial environment brings together established industries and developing areas of technology and innovation. World Business Chicago describes the region as having substantial activity in finance and fintech, innovation and technology, life sciences, manufacturing, food innovation, and transportation and logistics.
Companies operating in these sectors may ultimately use several distinct trademarks.
A business itself may operate under one brand while using different marks for a software platform, mobile application, financial product, consumer product, service offering, technology platform, product family, or other commercial offering.
That distinction can become increasingly important as the business grows.
A company’s legal entity name does not automatically provide comprehensive trademark protection for every product or service it develops. Similarly, owning a domain name, obtaining a business registration, developing proprietary technology, or obtaining patent or copyright protection does not by itself resolve the trademark rights associated with the name under which a product or service will be offered.
Trademark strategy can therefore become part of the broader product-development and commercialization process.
Before a Chicago business invests substantially in product naming, software development, packaging, investor materials, websites, distribution relationships, advertising, licensing, or national expansion, it may be prudent to evaluate whether the proposed brand conflicts with existing trademark rights.
For companies that have selected a mark but have not yet commenced qualifying commercial use, a federal intent-to-use application may provide a way to begin pursuing protection before launch, provided the applicant has a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce. The USPTO maintains a specific intent-to-use application process for marks that have not yet entered qualifying use.
This can be particularly valuable when product development or commercialization requires a lengthy lead time and the business wants trademark issues considered before completing a significant investment in the proposed brand.
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Illinois Business Registration vs. Federal Trademark Registration
Registering a corporation, limited liability company, assumed name, or other business filing in Illinois 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, logos, slogans, and other indicators used to identify the source of particular goods or services.
Illinois also maintains a separate state-level trademark and service-mark registration system through the Illinois Secretary of State. The Secretary of State explains that its Trademark/Servicemark Section registers and renews marks under Illinois law and that registration is permissible rather than compulsory.
State registration, however, is distinct from federal trademark registration through the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
As a result, the availability or approval of a business name in Illinois does not necessarily mean that the same name is available for use or federal trademark registration.
Another party may already possess federal trademark rights or earlier common-law rights in the same or a confusingly similar mark.
A Chicago business preparing to invest substantially in a company name, technology, product, service, software platform, restaurant concept, consumer 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 Chicago Businesses
Can a Chicago business obtain a federal trademark registration?
Yes.
A business located in Chicago can seek federal trademark registration through the USPTO if the applicable requirements of federal trademark law are satisfied.
An application may be filed based on qualifying use of the mark in commerce. In appropriate circumstances, an applicant that has not yet launched may instead file based on a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce.
This can be particularly relevant for Chicago startups developing new products, software platforms, technologies, financial services, consumer brands, or other offerings that have not yet reached commercial launch.
Federal registration is not limited to businesses physically located near a particular USPTO office or trademark attorney.
Can I apply for a trademark before launching my Chicago startup?
Potentially, yes.
A Section 1(b) intent-to-use application allows an applicant with a bona fide intention to use a mark in commerce to begin the federal trademark application process before qualifying use has commenced.
The applicant must ultimately satisfy the applicable use requirements before registration can issue.
For a startup or developing business, filing before launch may be useful when significant resources are being invested in product development, fundraising, software development, manufacturing, packaging, websites, marketing, or other activities associated with a proposed brand.
Beginning the trademark process earlier can also provide an opportunity to identify potential conflicts before the company becomes deeply committed to a particular name.
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Does registering my business name in Illinois mean I own the trademark?
Not necessarily.
Business registration and trademark protection address different legal questions.
Approval of a corporation, LLC, or other business name through Illinois’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 mean that using the name will not conflict with another party’s existing trademark rights.
Trademark clearance should therefore be considered separately from forming a corporation or LLC, registering a business name, purchasing a domain, or obtaining social-media accounts.
Is a Google search enough to determine whether my trademark is available?
No.
An internet search can provide useful information about marketplace use, but it is not a substitute for trademark clearance analysis.
A proposed mark can conflict with an earlier mark even if no identical result appears in Google. Trademark analysis can involve similarities in spelling, sound, meaning, appearance, or overall commercial impression, together with the relationship between the respective goods or services.
A clearance analysis may also consider federal trademark applications and registrations, marketplace uses, business names, domains, state records, and other potential sources of rights.
The objective is not simply to determine whether another business is using precisely the same wording. It is to evaluate the legal risk associated with adopting and attempting to register the proposed brand.
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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 legal or procedural issues that must be addressed before the application can proceed. The USPTO provides specific response procedures for Office Actions issued during examination.
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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LEARN ABOUT SECTION 2(d) REFUSALS
Does filing a trademark application first automatically mean I have superior trademark rights?
Not necessarily.
Trademark priority can depend on several factors, including the parties’ use of their respective marks, the applicable filing bases, constructive-use rights, and whether an application ultimately matures into registration.
A federal trademark filing date can become extremely important. In appropriate circumstances, federal registration can provide constructive-use priority dating back to the application’s filing date, subject to statutory requirements and limitations.
The issue should not, however, be reduced to a rule that whoever files first automatically has superior trademark rights in every circumstance.
For startups and businesses developing a brand before launch, priority considerations can be one reason to evaluate filing strategy relatively early in the commercialization process.
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Do I need a trademark attorney located in Illinois?
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.
A Chicago business therefore does not need to retain an attorney who maintains a physical office in Illinois merely because the business is located there.
Cohn Legal represents clients throughout the United States in federal trademark matters, including entrepreneurs, startups, companies, and other brand owners located in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois.
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 generally arises when a party challenges a pending trademark application after publication.
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 concerning 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
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 Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois.
Why Chicago Businesses Work With Cohn Legal
Trademark matters often involve considerably more than completing and submitting a federal application.
Cohn Legal assists clients with evaluating proposed brands before launch, conducting trademark clearance, developing filing strategies, responding to substantive USPTO refusals, navigating contested TTAB proceedings, enforcing established trademark rights, defending against infringement allegations, negotiating trademark-related agreements, and managing growing trademark portfolios.
For Chicago startups and established companies, trademark considerations may also intersect with fundraising, technology development, licensing, manufacturing, product launches, distribution, advertising, and expansion into new markets.
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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.
Illinois Secretary of State Trademark/Servicemark Resources
Illinois Trademark/Servicemark Search
Official Illinois information concerning state trademark and service-mark registration, renewal, and records. Illinois’s Trademark/Servicemark Section is administered through the Secretary of State’s Department of Business Services.
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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