While you are not legally required to register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), there is no harm in doing so. In fact, it may offer you grander protections of your brand name, logo, etc. than common law can possibly deliver. And so if you are already putting in the effort to go through this formal application process, you might as well execute it correctly. That said, please continue reading to learn what actions can cause problems with your trademark filing and how an experienced New Jersey trademark lawyer at The Ingber Law Firm can work to ensure that the process of obtaining this intellectual property protection goes as smoothly as possible.
Can choosing the wrong trademark cause problems when filing?
First things first, you should confirm that you are choosing to register the right trademark with the USPTO. What we mean by the “right” trademark is that it does not already exist within the USPTO Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) database. In other words, your currently unregistered mark is not infringing upon the protections and rights of an officially registered mark. This may be clarified through a simple trademark search.
From here, you must feel assured that your intended mark is not too weak or generic for federal registration. For example, a weak mark is merely descriptive and has not yet developed a secondary meaning through extensive and prolonged use in commerce. This is while a generic mark may be a commonly used name for the associated product or service. Instead, think of a strong mark that can help distinguish your position in the marketplace.
What kinds of actions can cause problems with my trademark filing?
Simply put, if you make errors within your trademark application, the USPTO may reject it outright. But even if it is approved, these mistakes can make your trademark protection harder to enforce and more easily challenged in legal disputes down the road. And so, below is a general list of actions you should avoid making with your trademark filing:
- Avoid registering your mark in the wrong trademark class of products or services.
- Avoid selecting the wrong trademark filing basis (i.e., use versus intent-to-use).
- Avoid misspelling your mark on the trademark application.
- Avoid leaving wrong owner information on the trademark application.
- Avoid leaving out information in required fields of the trademark application.
- Avoid supplying the wrong payment information for the mandatory trademark application filing fee.
- Avoid waiting too long to respond to a USPTO office action after submitting your trademark application.
Rest assured, there are means to rectify any of these errors. To conclude, before you fill out your trademark application, you must seek a skilled Essex County, New Jersey intellectual property lawyer to assist you. Please contact our office, The Ingber Law Firm, as soon as you are ready.