faq

What is the difference between trademarks and trade names, or company names? Trade names, or company names, are designed to identify the company, the business. They are designed to identify YOU. Whereas trademarks are designed to identify a product or a service. And there is a big, big difference. So...

Increase in Federal Trademark Cost ExplainedSo why are they changing the fees? Well—there are a lot of words here but basically, they're changing their fees because they can and because they want to. This will make the cost to file a trademark even more than it already was. Because...

Word marks are basically just that: it is a trademark that contains nothing but words. It can be one word, two words, three words—as many words as you want. But these words would be written in plain characters and they protect the words. They don't protect how those words...

What Is Trademark Use?The use of a trademark, or using a trademark sign, is a legal term that's not really the same as the common-sense use of the word. When I mention somebody's brand, I'm kind of using it. When I say I have an Apple phone or an...

Here’s What HappensThe trademark office does not remind you to renew your registration; they will wait to see if you, the owner, your attorney, your trademark agent, or another interested party reminds you to submit the renewal. The trademark office must regularly “clear out the deadwood” by removing inactive...

What Should Be in a Licensing Agreement?You, the trademark owner, are the licensor and the other party is the licensee in this agreement. There are three types of trademark license agreements: Exclusive Trademark License The licensee is the only party that can use the trademark with an Exclusive License,...

Trademark Services Tip: What is Trademark Use?Alright, a few important introductory words of wisdom. Since we're going to be talking about specimens of use, it's important to understand what "use" actually is. "Trademark Use" is a legal term that relates to using your brand in commerce as a trademark...

What Is Assignment?On the other hand, a Trademark Assignment Agreement Is a sales contract where you sell your brand to another party who becomes the new owner of your trademark. Assignment Agreements are typically straightforward and require little contractual language because a sale is a sale. Subjects like transfer...

THINKING OF TRADEMARKING YOUR BRAND? Different industries focus on trademarking different things. Depending on what you do, you may choose to file for a service name trademark, a product name trademark, or a logo trademark. Many service industries are extremely competitive. They are often highly populated with key players, like...