Registering your trademark is a great asset to your business. The process of having your trademark registered is quite simple. However, a lot goes behind the scenes including various legal decisions to complete the heavily detailed process. Attempting to complete the process without professional assistance is likely going to have your application rejected for having various unnecessary errors. Additionally, you’re likely to end up spending a lot on costly re-filling. When creating a trademark or handling an infringement, you need expert assistance from a trademark attorney.
Is hiring a trademark attorney worth it?
Handling documentation and filing regarding a trademark takes time and effort. You can save yourself from this by enlisting the services of a professional attorney. Having a skilled person to handle the process increases the chances of securing the trademark by more than 50 percent.
The trademark application includes various legal proceedings that someone without experience can’t handle appropriately. Attempting to do it yourself will only lead to various negative consequences. Professionals usually come with everything in place to do a wonderful job. This increases the probability of securing trademark rights.
Roles of trademark attorneys
Trademark clearance search
A comprehensive trademark search is the first step to register a trademark. This determines whether there’s a similar trademark before you file your application. Part of this process includes a
trademark slogan search service. The temptation to do it yourself is usually high but you’re likely to end up spending more time, money, and effort in the long run. Doing a Google search is only going to reveal some matching results to the trademark.
Ignoring professional assistance is likely to land you in hot soup in the future. Poor searches miss out same trademarks leading to rejections by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark attorneys do comprehensive searches without looking for just wording matching exactly. Professionals understand the importance of searching slogans, business name, and logo to detect those that look similar to yours. Your trademark attorney will receive an alert on the detection of matching results. This will require you to work together for a way forward.
Preparation of trademark application
Making various legal decisions characterizes the trademark application process. Regardless of how much expertise you have in your industry, you’re less likely to have an appropriate understanding of the legal knowledge to handle a trademark
application without professional assistance. Keep in mind that even trademark attorneys work frequently with registrants to avoid having to apply again after the first submission. Assistance from a trademark attorney increases the chances of obtaining the trademark by about 83 percent
Knowledge of which of the 45 international classes your trademark application belongs is quite confusing. Failing to file the appropriate international class creates issues and possible rejection by the patent examiner. Seasoned trademark attorneys know how to easily make good decisions regarding the appropriate international class for your trademark. This allows for a much faster registration process.
The Discovery of issues in your application will make the patent office send an amendment request or a rejection notice. Failing to respond appropriately to the issues might make the examiner to change your application status to ‘Abandoned’. Fortunately, trademark attorneys respond on behalf of their clients. This offers peace of mind that everything regarding your trademark application is well taken care of.
Monitoring your trademark
The patent office handles the registration of trademarks without monitoring them in the market. Trademark owners are responsible for registering their trademarks and monitoring them. However, amidst all the work of building a brand, little time remains to monitor the trademark for infringement. Luckily, a trademark attorney will do this work on your behalf to ensure that no one is benefiting from your trademark. So, you can focus on growing your business without worry about policing the trademark.
Efficient trademark monitoring detents potential infringement gives you a chance to take immediate action. The attorney will guide you on the right course of action to take against the offender. This might require the attorney to draft a cease-and-desist letter to out the trademark violator on notice. Alternatively, legal action might be necessary. There is also a possibility of you receiving the cease-and-desist letter. Your trademark attorney will guide you on how to get out of that situation.
When to call a trademark attorney
The ideal moment to call a trademark attorney is after getting a name for your business. The attorney will search for the name and recommend whether to go ahead with it or not. Liking a particular name without undertaking a search to clear it before moving forward with the business is business suicide. The trademark attorney has the right tools and experience to guide you on how to get a name when short of ideas.
Owning a trademark is a wonderful thing for any business owner. Acquiring one is a lengthy process that involves filing and documentation. Enlisting a professional trademark attorney allows benefiting from experience and expertise to increase the chances of obtaining the trademark.