Cohn Legal, PLLC represents entrepreneurs, startups, businesses, creative companies, and established brand owners in Los Angeles and throughout California 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 Los Angeles or elsewhere in California. The firm represents California businesses remotely in federal trademark matters before the USPTO and TTAB.
Federal Trademark Services for Los Angeles Businesses
Cohn Legal assists Los Angeles 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, entertainment property, technology, fashion label, consumer brand, logo, 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.
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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 Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles is home to businesses operating across a diverse range of industries, including entertainment and media, fashion, technology, aerospace, consumer products, hospitality and tourism, healthcare and biosciences, professional services, and international trade and logistics.
For businesses in these sectors, a company name, product name, entertainment brand, service mark, logo, slogan, fashion label, technology platform, or other source identifier can become an important commercial asset.
Trademark issues often arise well before a Los Angeles business files an application with the USPTO. A company may form a California entity, register a business name, purchase a domain, obtain social-media accounts, commission a logo, develop packaging, begin production, or invest in 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.
This can be particularly important for Los Angeles businesses because brands developed locally may quickly reach customers and audiences throughout the United States and internationally.
An entertainment company may distribute content nationally through streaming or other media platforms. A fashion or consumer-products company may sell through e-commerce, retailers, or distributors across the country. A technology company may provide software or online services to users in multiple states. A hospitality company may market to interstate travelers. Businesses involved in international trade and logistics may similarly operate across geographic markets from the outset.
Federal registrations are not the only potential source of trademark risk. Depending on the circumstances, another party may possess relevant common-law rights arising from marketplace use even without owning a federal registration.
For that reason, Cohn Legal approaches trademark clearance as a legal risk analysis rather than simply asking whether an identical name appears in the USPTO database.
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Trademark Considerations for Los Angeles Entertainment, Fashion, Technology, and Consumer Brands
Los Angeles businesses often develop brands in industries where names, titles, product lines, creative properties, and commercial identities can move rapidly across markets.
Entertainment companies may need to distinguish between trademark rights and other forms of intellectual property protection. Copyright can protect qualifying creative expression, while trademark law generally concerns words, names, logos, symbols, and other indicators that identify the source of goods or services. Depending on how a title, production company name, series name, platform, or related brand is used, different intellectual-property considerations may apply.
Fashion and consumer-product companies face different challenges. A business preparing to launch a clothing label, cosmetics line, food or beverage product, lifestyle brand, or other consumer offering may invest substantially in packaging, photography, inventory, advertising, influencer campaigns, retail relationships, and e-commerce before discovering a conflicting trademark.
Technology companies may encounter earlier marks covering software, downloadable applications, online platforms, technology consulting, or related services even when the businesses themselves appear different at first glance.
Los Angeles businesses involved in aerospace, biosciences, healthcare, trade, logistics, hospitality, and professional services may face their own industry-specific clearance and registration considerations.
The relevant trademark analysis therefore extends beyond asking whether another company has exactly the same name.
A meaningful clearance review considers the similarity of the marks, the relationship between the respective goods and services, relevant channels of trade, the strength of potentially conflicting marks, and other circumstances that may affect the likelihood of confusion.
Timing can also matter.
A Los Angeles startup or established company developing a brand before commercial launch may be able to file a federal application based on a bona fide intent to use the mark in commerce. An intent-to-use application can allow an eligible applicant to begin the federal registration process before qualifying use has commenced, although additional requirements must ultimately be satisfied before registration.
For companies planning significant expenditures on production, packaging, product development, advertising, signage, websites, launch campaigns, or other branded assets, evaluating trademark availability earlier in the process can provide greater flexibility if a significant conflict is discovered.
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California Business Registration vs. Federal Trademark Registration
Registering a corporation, LLC, fictitious business name, or other business record in California is not the same as obtaining federal trademark rights.
Business registration and trademark protection address different legal questions.
Approval or availability of a business or entity name 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 trademark rights.
California also maintains a separate system for registering trademarks and service marks through the California Secretary of State. California state registration and federal trademark registration are distinct forms of protection with different legal consequences.
A Los Angeles business should therefore consider trademark clearance separately from forming a business entity, registering a fictitious business name, obtaining a California state trademark registration, purchasing a domain name, or securing social-media accounts.
For businesses operating or planning to operate beyond California, federal trademark registration may provide important benefits under federal law. The appropriate filing strategy depends on the mark, the goods or services, the applicant’s use or intended use, and the circumstances surrounding the business.
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Common Trademark Questions From Los Angeles Businesses
Can a Los Angeles business obtain a federal trademark registration?
Potentially, yes.
Federal trademark registration is available to eligible applicants whose marks satisfy the requirements of federal trademark law. The relevant questions generally concern the mark, the identified goods or services, the applicant’s use or bona fide intent to use the mark in qualifying commerce, and whether other legal grounds prevent registration.
The fact that a business is headquartered or primarily operates in Los Angeles does not prevent it from seeking federal registration.
If I primarily serve customers in Los Angeles, 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 operate 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 through interstate customers, online transactions, interstate travel, distribution channels, transportation, or other commercial activity extending beyond purely local commerce.
This can be particularly relevant for Los Angeles entertainment, hospitality, e-commerce, fashion, technology, professional-services, transportation, and consumer-product businesses.
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 California mean I own the trademark?
Not necessarily.
Registering or forming a business under a particular name does not necessarily establish that the business owns superior trademark rights to that name.
Entity registration, fictitious business-name filings, state trademark registration, and federal trademark registration serve different purposes.
A proposed business name should therefore be evaluated for trademark risk separately from its availability as a California business or entity name.
Should I search my trademark before launching a Los Angeles brand?
In most cases, evaluating trademark availability before making a significant investment in a new brand is prudent.
A meaningful trademark search should not focus only on identical names. Potential conflicts can involve marks that differ in spelling, pronunciation, wording, appearance, meaning, or overall commercial impression when the respective goods or services are sufficiently related.
Depending on the circumstances, a clearance analysis may consider pending and registered federal marks, relevant marketplace use, state records, business names, domains, and other sources of potentially relevant trademark rights.
For a Los Angeles company preparing to invest in product development, packaging, production, signage, advertising, websites, content, inventory, or launch campaigns, discovering a significant trademark problem before launch can provide substantially more flexibility than discovering it afterward.
Can I file a trademark application before launching my business or product?
Potentially, yes.
Federal trademark law permits an eligible applicant with a bona fide intention to use a mark in commerce to file an intent-to-use application before qualifying commercial use begins.
This can be particularly useful for businesses with meaningful development periods before launch.
For example, a technology company may be developing software, a consumer-products company may be finalizing manufacturing and packaging, or an entertainment business may be developing a new commercial brand before it enters the marketplace.
An intent-to-use filing does not eliminate the requirement to establish qualifying use before registration, but it can allow the federal application process to begin earlier.
Can I trademark the name of a film, show, podcast, or other entertainment property?
Sometimes, but entertainment titles require careful analysis.
Trademark law distinguishes between source-identifying uses and titles or names that may not function as trademarks in particular circumstances. The treatment of a title can also depend on whether it identifies a single creative work, a series, or goods or services offered under the mark.
Copyright and trademark law also protect different interests.
A Los Angeles entertainment company considering protection for a production company name, series, podcast, media brand, platform, or related commercial identity should therefore evaluate how the proposed mark is actually being used and what goods or services it identifies.
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.
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
Do I need a trademark attorney located in California?
No.
Federal trademark applications and proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board are governed by federal law and administered through the USPTO.
A Los Angeles business therefore does not need to retain an attorney who maintains a physical office in California merely because the business is located there.
Cohn Legal represents businesses and entrepreneurs throughout the United States in federal trademark matters, including clients located in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California. 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 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 Los Angeles and elsewhere in California.
Why Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles businesses, trademark planning may intersect with entertainment and media, fashion, technology, consumer products, hospitality, e-commerce, aerospace, healthcare and biosciences, professional services, international trade, and expansion into markets outside California.
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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.
California Trademark and Service Mark Registration
California Secretary of State — Trademarks and Service Marks
Official information from the California Secretary of State concerning California 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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