Trademark Registration in the United States

The trademark is an important part of a business for maintaining brand value in society. The trademark is the one that helps the consumer to recognize the brand and thereby recognizing the effective quality of goods and services that is provided by the company. Having such importance, the businesses are very cautious in their approach to protect their trademark from infringement. The process of getting a trademark registered in the United States takes the office amounts to 8-10 months from the date of filing. The office that takes care of the registration process is the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

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Importance

Trademark registration in the US helps the company to notify the existence of their brand in the market and protecting the same from any infringement. The registered trademark will appear in the online database of trademarks maintained by USPTO. Moreover having the registered mark can help you to use the registered mark on your logo. This helps because a registered mark gives an upper hand to the business in the market. The registration in the US will be reviewed by a trademark examining attorney before registration, reviewing the prior registered trademark. Even after the review, thirty days are being given for the third-party objections. After coming out of all the process and getting a registered trademark presumes strong ownership and to own the protectable mark.

In the US, the trademarks are administered by both state and federal law. With the advent of globalization and more interstate commerce, federal marks have taken the ground making it the principal source of trademark protection having the federal statute being the Trademark Act of 1946 ( The Lanham Act). as specified earlier, the USPTO is accountable for registering and managing the trademark in the USA. While being for the federal registration, it is important for having the mark being used in interstate commerce, having the maximum protection. A mark that is registered with the PTO must be marked with the ® symbol. Unregistered trademarks should be marked with a “TM”, and unregistered service marks must be marked with “sm”.

Getting ahead with your mark

The first step is to search the previously registered trademark in the domain of goods and services. The database of the USPTO which is the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) can be used for an effective search.  The trademark search must include a trademark in the form of words, images, numbers, etc. The report can also contain the assessment from a lawyer trained in trademark law, about the registration of a trademark and the risk of a fight with trademarks earlier registered. Refusing the trademark registration which is already registered can save the litigation cost that might arise in the future.

The typical fees will range from $250 per class to $350 per class. The trademark then is filed in the office of the USPTO where it will be reviewed. The examining attorney will be there to work and review the application and determine the conflict which can arise with another trademark and ensure that the application must meet all technical requirements. After analyzing the application and if the examination is successful, then the application moves to publication in the Trademark Official Gazette. Thereafter, if all the notice and opposition is resolved, the trademark will be registered and USPTO will issue a certificate of registration for the same.

The period for a trademark to being lawfully protected is 10 years from the date of its registration. After the expiration of 10 years, the option of renewal is there whereby the owner can renew the mark after complying with the process. A grace period of 6 months is also provided for complying with the renewal process. Also if the mark has not been used for 5 consecutive years, the office can ask to cancel the registration, at the request of any interested party. The renewal form is required to be filled with the requisite fees for the renewal. More documents like the original certificate of registration and the address proof are also required.

Trademark registration may be expedited in a limited number of circumstances, including matters of litigation, the possibility of infringement, or the need to obtain a U.S. trademark to obtain a foreign registration. You must fill out a petition and show a significant need for the application to be expedited. Situations that might apply to a large number of other businesses may not be considered for the expedition. With that said, even under an expedited examination, the registration process still typically takes around 5 to 6 months.

The process being simple, does require the assistance of an experienced attorney. The highly expert team at Global Patent Filing has worked with thousands of clients in helping them to get the trademark registered in the US. The services provided by the firm are highly affordable and are at an efficient cost.

Author: Saransh Chaturvedi (an advocate) currently pursuing LLM from Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (IIT Kharagpur).  In case of any queries please contact/write back to us at support@ipandlegalfilings.com.