Protecting Your Brand Through Trademark Law
Trademarks are an important form of intellectual property that help businesses protect their brands and distinguish their products and services in the marketplace. Names, logos, slogans, symbols, and certain elements of trade dress may qualify for trademark protection. Building and protecting valuable trademark rights, however, can involve complex legal and strategic considerations.
Fogarty IP helps businesses develop, register, protect, and enforce their trademarks. Our attorneys combine knowledge of trademark law with an understanding of each client’s business and commercial objectives. We take a practical, strategic approach to protecting the brands and goodwill our clients have worked to build.
Understanding Trademark Rights
Trademark rights generally arise from the use of a distinctive mark in connection with particular goods or services. Depending on the circumstances, a business may acquire common law trademark rights through actual use of a mark even without obtaining a federal registration.
Common law rights can provide meaningful protection, but their geographic scope and enforcement may be more limited than the rights associated with federal registration. The ™ symbol may generally be used to identify a claimed trademark regardless of whether the mark has been federally registered.
Federal trademark registration through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) can provide significant additional benefits. Among other advantages, federal registration can provide nationwide notice of a claim of ownership, important legal presumptions concerning the mark, and additional remedies and enforcement options. Once a mark is federally registered, the owner may use the ® symbol in connection with the goods or services covered by the registration.
Whether federal registration is appropriate – and when an application should be filed – depends on the nature of the mark, how it is being or will be used, the competitive landscape, and the company’s broader business objectives.
Strategic Trademark Counsel
Our trademark attorneys assist clients throughout the trademark life cycle, including:
- Selecting and evaluating proposed trademarks
- Conducting trademark clearance searches
- Preparing and filing federal trademark applications
- Responding to USPTO office actions and other examination issues
- Maintaining and renewing trademark registrations
- Developing domestic and international trademark portfolios
- Monitoring potentially conflicting trademarks
- Preparing trademark licenses, assignments, and coexistence agreements
- Addressing unauthorized or infringing uses of trademarks
- Enforcing trademark rights when necessary
- Defending businesses against allegations of trademark infringement
- Protecting the value of your brand
A company’s trademarks can become some of its most valuable business assets. Effective trademark protection involves more than obtaining a registration – it requires a strategy that considers how a brand is used, how the business is expected to grow, and how trademark rights can be maintained and enforced over time.
Fogarty IP works with clients to develop trademark strategies aligned with their business objectives. From evaluating a new brand and securing federal registration to managing an established trademark portfolio and addressing potential infringement, our attorneys provide practical counsel designed to protect the identity, reputation, and goodwill associated with our clients’ brands.
Call us today at 469-985-3505 or send an email using this form.