Insights & Tips
A federal trademark registration can become incontestable if the mark has been used continuously for any consecutive five-year period after registration upon the filing of a Declaration of Incontestability. Accordingly, either simultaneously with the f …
Yes. Pursuant to Section 8 of the Lanham Act, the owner of a trademark registration is required to periodically submit a declaration attesting to and demonstrating that the mark is still in use in commerce. The Declaration of Use must initially be subm …
Yes. Trademark registrations that issued or were renewed on or after November 16, 1989, must be renewed every ten years. The renewal application is due on the tenth anniversary of registration. The initial renewal period for registrations that issued b …
Section 2 of the Lanham Act prohibits registration of a mark that: Consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive or scandalous matter (Example: Dick Heads and design of male genitalia for restaurant services). Consists of matter which may disparage or fa …
The Supplemental Register is reserved for designations which are deemed to be capable of serving a trademark function, but which do not yet do so, such as descriptive marks and marks which are primarily merely surnames.
The Principal Register is the primary register in the United States. Only marks that are distinctive, or have acquired distinctiveness may be registered on the Principal Register.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) issues federal trademark registrations after a detailed application process. Specific information on the trademark application process, including downloadable and electronic application forms, can b …
A simple or initial search may include a basic search of trademark directories, or the use of online trademark search systems that contain federal and state trademark registration information. This type of search may reveal quickly and inexpensively wh …
Trademark availability searches can be performed in various ways and in varying degrees of complexity and comprehensiveness.
There is no requirement that a trademark availability search be performed before the adoption of a trademark or the filing of a trademark application. Notwithstanding the foregoing, performing a trademark availability search is a reasonable and prudent …
Trademarks are commercial symbols of source or quality. A copyright is a property right in an original work of authorship that is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. This right extends to items such as literary works, dramatic works, musical comp …
The filing of state trademark or service mark registration is a relatively simple and inexpensive matter. Moreover, a state trademark registration can often be obtained even in the case of a relatively nondistinctive mark. Although state registrations …
