Trademark Monitoring
Monitoring your trademark to prevent other businesses or individuals from using it can be time consuming. To be effective, you must conduct regular local, state, and federal trademark database searches and online searches to determine if your trademark or similar mark is in use without your permission.
Unfortunately, the use of registered trademarks or marks that closely resemble registered trademarks is common. And while the use of a registered trademark may be unintentional, the consequences could be painful for your business. Loss of revenue, reputation, and customers due to brand confusion are possible outcomes if you do not actively monitor your trademarks.
Monitoring and Opposition
In addition to conducting trademark searches, you can file opposition paperwork if you perceive a pending trademark to infringe upon your existing mark.
Before a trademark is officially registered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, there is a 30-day grace period in which anyone can file opposition paperwork to prevent the mark from becoming the property of someone else.
If you can prove the mark is too similar to your mark, you can prevent the mark from being registered.
But opposing a trademark also requires you to regularly check the USPTO database and review hundreds of trademarks. This is also very time consuming.
Attorney Monitoring
Hiring an attorney to monitor your trademark saves time and frustration. A trademark attorney will continually monitor and file the necessary paperwork to stop trademarks too similar to yours from being registered. Your trademark lawyer will also send letters informing businesses and individuals that are using a mark already in use.
Most businesses and individuals want to avoid trademark infringement as it can be a messy legal battle and does not help them build brand awareness for goods and services.
The Lexero Law Firm
Our trademark lawyers are here to assist you in registering, monitoring, and protecting your trademark from use by others. Let us do the work for you while you concentrate on running your business.