DEVELOPING AND REGISTERING A TRADEMARK - Law Office of Elias M. Gordan

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=175 BGCOLOR="#A6CAF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FAQ Trademarks LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. G"><U><B><IMG SRC="00d0d1d0.gif" border=0 width="13" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <B>© </B>2001 Elias M. Gordan</div> <div> All rights reserved</div> <bR> <div> <B>Law Office of</B></div> <div> <B>Elias M. Gordan</B></div> <div> Post Office Box 60</div> <div> Palos Park, IL  60464</div> <bR> <div> Phone  708.923.9735</div> <div> Email  gordanlaw@att.net</div> <div> Web    www.gordanlaw.com</div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HOME PAGE LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN"><U><B>HOME</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN About Us"><U><B>About Us</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN Contact U"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Law Office of Elias M. Gordan</B></div> <div> <B>Registering and Developing A Trademark</B></div> <div>         Every business conducts its activities under one or more trade<B> </B>names, that serve to identify the business and distinguish it from other businesses.  A business can also distinguish its goods and services, from other goods and services in the ordinary course of trade.  Common distinguishing marks can include a name, a word, a slogan, a logo, a color scheme, a nonfunctional “look and feel” of a product (“trade dress”), and even a smell, a sound, or a distinctive building.  These forms of trade identity are protectable under State and Federal law, as trademarks (for goods), service<B> </B>marks (for services), certification<B> </B>marks (for goods or services with certain features, such as union construction), or collective<B> </B>marks (for associations).  For simplicity, we will refer to all of the above as “trademarks” or “marks”.  Companies often overlook these rights, both as a means of distinguishing themselves from their competitors, and as a valuable asset, suitable for licensing, or for sale with the business.</div> <div>         While common-law trademark rights arise from usage, with or without registration, it is crucial that a trademark be registered at the State and Federal level.  State registrations are typically handled by the Secretary of State for the particular jurisdiction involved, and may be done online, depending on the jurisdiction.  The websites of most of these agencies may be reached through www.state.__.us , filling in the appropriate postal abbreviation for the state.  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000BF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN IP Links"><U>Go to our IL, IN trademark links.</U></A></FONT>  Trademark registration at the Federal level is done through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.uspto.gov" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.uspto.gov"><U><U><www.uspto.gov>,</U></U></A></FONT> .  Applications for trademark registration can be electronically filed with the USPTO, and information on trademark applications and registrations may be found online, using the USPTO website, <<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.uspto.gov" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.uspto.gov"><U><U>www.uspto.gov>.</U></U></A></FONT>   Unlike common-law trademark rights, USPTO applications may be based merely on an intent to use a particular trademark, provided that the trademark is actually used in commerce before registration.</div> <div>         Registration of a trademark with the USPTO offers the following advantages:</div> <div> - the registrant is presumed to use the mark as of the application date, and will enjoy legal priority over all later users of the mark;</div> <div> - everybody in this country is presumed to be aware of the registrant’s ownership of the mark - actual knowledge of the mark is not required;</div> <div> - there is a presumption that the mark is valid and registered, and that the registrant has exclusive rights to use the mark for the classes of goods or services stated in the registration.  These rights can become incontestable after five years of registration, upon filing of an affidavit.</div> <div> - registration gives the trademark holder the right to sue others in the Federal courts for infringing its trademark, without regard to the residence of the parties, or the amount of money at issue; and</div> <div> - if the trademark holder believes that its mark is being infringed by other parties, it can sue for lost profits and damages, and, in addition, can obtain a court order (or injunction) to stop the infringement.  Lost profits or damages may be doubled or trebled, with attorney’s fees added in exceptional cases.</div> <div>         The most important advantage of registration is that it gives the registrant the right to expand into other areas of the country, and utilize injunctive relief to force out competing marks adopted after the date of constructive use.  Unregistered trademarks will still be permitted to coexist with a later, registered trademark, but the unregistered trademark will typically be restricted to its actual territory and its area of probable expansion.</div> <div>         Upon application and approval by the USPTO, the trademark is published in the USPTO <I>Official Gazette</I>, to notify the public of the mark, and to permit oppositions to be filed with the USPTO.   If no oppositions are made, and an affidavit of use has been filed, a Certificate of Registration is issued.     Trademark registration and rights exist as long as the mark is used in commerce, and can potentially last forever.  The holder of a USPTO-registered trademark must file a renewal application, and an affidavit of continued use, during the tenth year of registration, for the registration to be renewed for ten additional years.  Also, an affidavit of continued use must be filed in the sixth year after initial registration, along with an affidavit to establish incontestability.  Similar renewal requirements may exist for State registrations.  The holder of a trademark registered with the USPTO must use a ® symbol, or the words “Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office”, to obtain the full protections of registration. Trademarks not yet registered with the USPTO are typically noted with the ™ symbol, and service marks are typically noted with the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="WP TypographicSymbols" >K</FONT> symbol.</div> <div>        A trademark must be distinctive to be registered or protected.  The “stronger” the mark, the greater the scope of protection.  Inherently distinctive, and “strong” marks, such as “Exxon” and “Crest”, are developed for the sole purpose of serving as a trademark, denoting the source of a product, without merely describing its features.  Defining "inherent distinctiveness" is often subjective and difficult.  A landmark United States Supreme Court case, <I>Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.  v.  Samara Brothers, Inc.</I>,  is expected to provide some guidance in this area. </div> <div>         Weaker marks include descriptive marks (“John’s Construction”, owned by a man named John), and generic terms (aspirin, Thermos).  Generic terms cannot be protected or registered as trademarks, since they denote the class of product, not its source.  Descriptive marks can potentially be protectable and registrable as trademarks, if they can be shown to have acquired secondary meaning, by identifying the source of the product, and not just describing it.   This may be shown through proof of five or more years of exclusive and continuous use  in commerce.  The USPTO Supplemental Register can also provide very limited protection for descriptive, but as-yet undistinctive marks.</div> <div>         Trademark infringement requires likelihood of confusion to be shown between the plaintiff’s mark and the accused mark.  Likelihood of confusion is determined  through a variety of factors, including similarity of the marks, similarity of the product or service, areas where the competing marks are used, sophistication of the consumers, strength of the senior mark, actual confusion, and bad faith by the holder of the junior mark.  Side-by-side comparisons are not used.  Trademark holders are now protected against bad-faith registration of the marks as domain names, and owners of “famous” marks, as defined in the  Lanham Act,  are protected from dilution of the distinctive quality of their marks.</div> <div>         Trademark protections can be enhanced through registration in foreign countries, registration of multiple classes of goods and services (such as construction services, design services, design/build services, online services, and consulting services), or  registration of distinctive trade dress (perhaps a unique, nonfunctional truck or trailer color scheme).  A trademark search, and clearance opinion, is recommended before adopting or registering a mark.  Searches of registered trademarks can be done through the USPTO  website, but commercial searches are usually required to identify common-law and recent trademarks.  Commercial providers include CCH-Corsearch, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.corsearch.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.corsearch.com"><U><U>www.corsearch.com</U></U></A></FONT>, phone 800.872.6725, and Thomson & Thomson, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>www.thomson-thomson.com</U></FONT>, phone 800.692.8833. Finally, the client and their counsel should verify insurance coverage for trademark claims, including defense costs,  under the “advertising injury” portion of their CGL policy.</div> <bR> <div> As always, please <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000BF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN Contact U"><U>contact us</U></A></FONT> if you have further questions.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>DISCLAIMER</B></div> <div> The information contained in this guide is meant only to convey general information, and is not intended to serve as legal advice or counsel, nor is it meant to create an attorney-client relationship.  The information presented here is subject to change or modification that any time without notice, and may not apply to the specific facts of your case.  Accordingly, you should check with a with an attorney before acting on this information, to make sure that it applies to your situation.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Law Office of Elias M. Gordan, </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000BF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="http://www.gordanlaw.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.gordanlaw.com"><U><B>http://www.gordanlaw.com</B></U></A></FONT><B> </B></div> <div> <B>Post Office Box 60, Palos Park, IL, 60464   </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000BF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="mailto:gordanlaw@att.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:gordanlaw@att.net"><U><B>email gordanlaw@att.net</B></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HOME PAGE LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN"><U><B>BACK TO HOME PAGE AND RECENT NEWS</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>     BACK TO:     </B><A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN About Us"><U><B>About Us</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. GORDAN Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A><B>      </B><A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LAW OFFICE OF ELIAS M. 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