Tulsa, Oklahoma Businesses Use Cohn Legal for Trademark Services
Serving in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cohn Legal, PLLC specializes in intellectual property protection and corporate law for startups, entrepreneurs, and small business owners. Our trademark attorneys absolutely love helping companies protect their brand names and logos. We offer excellence in legal representation and take great pride in our ability to create lasting bonds with our clients.
Top 7 Questions Tulsa Businesses Have About Obtaining a Trademark
Can registering my trademark help protect my brand?
Registering your trademark is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your business and your brand. Once your trademark is registered with the USPTO, your trademark is protected from infringement in all 50 states. Therefore, if there’s a competitor or a third party using a trademark that’s similar to yours, you can take legal action.
What are the ways a trademark attorney can help me protect my trademark rights?
A trademark attorney can help you understand what your rights are and give you valuable advice about the best way to enforce those rights. He or she can help you monitor the market for possible infringement. Then, if you learn that competitors are using your trademark without your permission, your attorney can walk you through what legal options are available to you and represent you in court.
How long does a trademark registration last?
Trademarks don’t ever expire. You just need to make sure that you file all post-registration maintenance documents on time. These documents include:
• Declaration of Use under Section 8, which must be filed about 5 or 6 years after registration.
• Declaration of Use and Application for Renewal under Sections 8 and 9, which must be filed about 10 years after registration and every 10 years thereafter.
If these documents are not filed on time, your registration will be cancelled by the USPTO and cannot be reinstated. The best way to ensure you file these documents on time is to hire a trademark attorney to handle it on your behalf.
What is the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board?
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) exists to help resolve conflicts among trademark owners in these instances:
• A third party believes your existing trademark is harming their business and should be cancelled.
• A third party believes your pending trademark shouldn’t be approved because their business would be harmed.
• You want to appeal an examining attorney’s decision to reject your trademark application.
• You want to challenge a third party’s existing trademark or pending trademark.
All of these proceedings have specific procedures and strict deadlines that must be adhered to. A trademark attorney can help you navigate these complex and lengthy proceedings.
How can I find out if someone else is using a trademark I am interested in registering?
If you want to find out if someone else is using a trademark that you want, then you should perform a clearance search. There are two types of clearance searches.
1. A preliminary knock-out search is a check of the Federal Trademark records. If the trademark you want is already registered by someone else, you will need to choose a new trademark.
2. A full search is intended to determine if use of your trademark might infringe on the rights of others. A full search will include a knock-out search but also involve looking at state trademark registrations, common law sources, and Internet sources. If your proposed trademark would infringe another person’s trademark rights, then it’s advisable to stop using it.
When exactly am I allowed to use the ® symbol?
There are 3 important rules to follow when using the ® symbol:
1. It may only be used after the mark is officially registered by the USPTO; not during the application process.
2. It may only be used on or in connection with the goods and services listed in the federal registration.
3. It may only be used while the registration is active; you may not use it if the registration expires.
I did an internet search for my desired trademark. Is that sufficient?
Simply conducting a trademark search on Google to find if your desired trademark is available for use is not sufficient. Most internet searches will only identify exact trademark matches, such as identical business names or identical product names. Most trademark issues, however, arise when one trademark is similar to another but isn’t an exact match. The trademark attorneys at Cohn Legal can provide you with a much more comprehensive search that will help you avoid potential legal issues.
Why Trademark Registration Matters for Tulsa Businesses
Tulsa is an excellent location to start a new business. The locals are friendly and the downtown area is always bustling. There are many steps to opening a successful business in Tulsa, but one step that should never be overlooked is conducting a thorough trademark search and registration.
Nowadays, many people use Google or a similar search engine to check if any other businesses are using the name they want. This approach is appealing to business owners because it’s easy and doesn’t cost any money. But the truth is, hiring a trademark attorney and registering a trademark properly is the more cost-effective option in the long run.
Imagine the following: Brad has developed a line of men’s grooming products and is anxious to go to market. He’s going to sell his products exclusively online. A quick Google search reveals that his business name, Well-Groomed Gentleman, is not associated with any other hair care products on the market.
Brad jumps right into the logo development, branding, website creation, and ordering customized labels for his products. Brad was selling his products across the nation through his website for just a few weeks when he received a cease-and-desist letter in the mail. It turns out that a major hair care company had trademarked the name Well-Groomed Gentlemen for a line of men’s hair care products that had not been released yet.
If Brad had taken the step of hiring a trademark attorney to conduct a comprehensive search, he would’ve learned that the name he wanted was already taken. Because the product wasn’t released to the public, he never would have found it through a simple Google search.
Now Brad has to take down his website and go through a rebranding process. This will be an expensive undertaking and could have been avoided if Brad contacted a trademark attorney as soon as he had the idea for a new business.
When it comes to trademark rights, don’t rely on Google. If you’re starting a new business, then contact the attorneys at Cohn Legal for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
** Cohn Legal, PLLC is not located in Tulsa and yet it can assist businesses from Oklahoma in registering a federal Trademark because trademarks are governed under federal law.
Trademarks Services for Tulsa Businesses
Submit Your Trademark
Now in 4 Easy Steps
TRADEMARK INFORMATION
Complete the Trademark Registration Form.
PRELIMINARY SEARCH
Our IP Attorneys will run a search of your trademark in the USPTO.
TM APPLICATION
We draft your TM Application and send it to you for your Review.
USPTO
We File the Application with the USPTO.