Once an application has been submitted to the national or local intellectual property (IP) authority, trademarks are typically secured through registration. In certain countries, one can also acquire trademark rights through use. It can be challenging to navigate the trademark landscape for your good or service, but doing so is essential to safeguarding your investments. Fortunately, you have a variety of trademark symbol protection alternatives available to you during the whole registration procedure. The circular R (®), the small uppercase letters TM (™), nor the small capital letter SM (℠) are all symbols which can be utilized. Both SM (℠) and even TM (™) marks can be used for general legal protection when your application is ongoing, but the circular R (®) is valid only after the product or service you are offering has been legally registered.
How Should I Utilize Each Symbol?
- Trademark registration number (®).
Utilized only following approval of trademark registration. You cannot use the circled R until your registration has been received. The government may reject your trademark application if you register for one and then start using the circled R. This is due to the fact that using the circular R is actually prohibited by federal law unless you have the trademark registration.
Used exclusively to assert ownership rights over a product without registering a trademark. When asserting ownership of a good without registering a trademark, use the ™ symbol. It is the appropriate symbol to use in the interim while you wait for the approval of your registered trademark application, and it can grant users common law trademark rights
Used exclusively when asserting ownership of a service without registering a trademark. When asserting ownership of a service without registering a trademark, use the ℠ symbol. This mark is used similarly to the TM, with the exception that this mark is used to claim a service as one of your own. Additionally, you should utilize this sign to pass the time until your application for a registered trademark is accepted. We frequently use the term “trademark” to apply to both service marks and trademarks in everyday discussion. Being a more technical term, “service mark” isn’t used very often. The SM mark, however, is the technically appropriate symbol in your case if you are providing a service and want to assert rights to your trademark.
Protection requirements
A sign must be unique in order to qualify for trademark protection; that is, it must be able to set one company’s products or services apart from those of its rivals.
Protection of trademarks expenses
The price of trademark protection varies greatly between nations and can include.
- Payable to the IP office is the application/registration fee. The number of classifications of products and services to be covered and the location in which you wish to protect your trademark will determine the fee.
- Fees related to using a trademark agent’s services. This might be something the IP office requires.
- Renewal fees must be paid. These are sums of money paid out over a ten-year period in exchange for the exclusive rights to a trademark.
Your local or national IP office can provide you with information on their charge schedule. View our directory of national and local IP offices.
The procedure of registering a trademark
The national or regional trademarks office is where a trademark application must be submitted (and paid for). The application will subsequently be examined by the office after filing. International trademark registration procedures differ, as does the sequence in which they are followed, although they generally follow the same guidelines.
- Application: You must first pay the necessary costs and submit a properly filled out trademark application form. Forms are available online or at the office; in many countries, you can finish the process entirely online. The list of products and services wherein the registered trademark will apply as well as a depiction of the mark will be included in the application. A statement stating your company’s intention to utilize the trademark or proof of use may be required by certain trademark offices.
- Analysis: The application is examined by the office to ensure that it satisfies every administrative requirement or formalities (such as paying the application fee and completing the form correctly). In many nations, the office’s sole responsibility is to verify that its suggested trademark is not prohibited from registration by particular trademark law requirements. Others look for trademark disputes between the planned and existing marks.
- A publication: The trademark has been repeatedly published into a journal. Only once a trademark has been formally registered in many nations is it released.
- Opposition: A lot of offices provide people a window of time to object to a trademark’s registration. Opposition proposals may be submitted before to or subsequent to the decision. The evidence submitted will be the basis for the office’s decision. An appeal will often be available for this ruling.
- Get registered: A certificate of registration is issued and a trademark is registered as soon as it is decided that there are no reasons to deny registration. In most cases, the certificate is valid for a decade. With the payment of the renewal fee, registrations can be extended indefinitely.
Five actions you need to take for protecting your trademark
Research, a precise application, follow-up, and frequent monitoring are the several procedures involved in a successful trademark registration. The procedures you must follow to protect and preserve your trademark are outlined here.
- Finish your assigned reading: If there is a “likelihood of confusion” between your trademark and another registered trademark, register it. Two marks that are similar and used for comparable goods or services are likely to create a “likelihood of confusion.” Before submitting an application for federal trademark protection, you should thoroughly search for trademarks to reduce the likelihood that your application. Trademark Electronic Search System, or TESS, allows you to search federal registered trademarks on your own; alternatively, you can engage a corporation to do the search for you. Additionally, a thorough search will look for trademarks with common law protection as well as those registered with state governments.
- Create and submit an application for a trademark: Submitting a trademark application via the Trademarks Electronic Application Service (a TEAS) is the next step to take if your trademark search turns up no conflicts with registered or pending claims. A “picture” of your trademark as it appears on its own and a “specimen,” such a label or brochure, demonstrating how you utilize the trademark in your business, will be needed. The categories of products or services for which you utilize your mark must also be specified. It is important to be accurate because you will only be able to protect trademarks for goods or services that you list in your application. Once the registration application is finished, you can electronically submit it along with a not refundable filing fee that varies based on the registered category for goods or services.
- React quickly to resistance or office activities: A trademark attorney is going to be assigned to handle your application. After reviewing it, if there are any queries or objections, they will issue a formal letter known as a “Office action.” Office actions are common, therefore it’s critical to respond to them promptly and with consideration. In the event that the deadline is missed, your application would be deemed abandoned. You must resolve the issues to the approval of a trademark attorney in order to reply to an Office action. Following the resolution of all disputes, your trademark will be announced in the Official Gazette, and anyone who disagrees with its registration may submit an opposition. Oppositions and office acts can bring up intricate legal and technical questions. Seeking counsel from a trademark attorney may be wise because you run the risk of having your application denied.
- Keep an eye on your trademark: You are able to use the trademark’s registered symbol, ®, as soon as your registration is accepted. However, you should not stop there in your attempts to safeguard your registered brand. The trademarks are registered, but you are still in charge of enforcing them. Keeping an eye on application for registration of trademarks which seem exactly like yours and opposing them is one strategy to safeguard your registered brand. Another is to report any company utilizing a name or emblem that appears to be identical to your registered brand and to take aggressive action. If an infringer does not comply with a simple “cease and desist” letter, you have the option to initiate a case in federal court using the federal trademark registration you have.
Preserve your brand: The duration of a trademark registration is ten years, and it can be renewed for an additional ten years. However, maintenance documents need to be filed every ten years thereafter, between the 9th and 10th year after the registration process, and between fifth and sixth year following registration. If you miss the deadline for registration, your trademark registrations are going to be canceled. All it will take to get a registered trademark is thorough study and a well-prepared application. To make guarantee that the hard-earned trademark protection continues for as long as your firm, keep an eye on it and file maintenance papers as soon as it is registered.