First of all, there is a right
time to select the Right Trademark – the Right Time is when you are starting
out – whether opening your new company or launching a new line of goods or
services. That is when you gain the
greatest advantage by choosing the Right Trademark.
The Right Trademark for your
company must possess four very important characteristics:
- · it designates your company as the source of the product;
- · it conveys a positive message about the product;
- · it is a trademark that will not expose you to unnecessary litigation risk;
- · it is a trademark to which you can claim exclusive rights.
If your trademark embodies these four
characteristics, there’s a very good chance it is the Right Trademark – one that
will help you build your company and become a valuable asset – maybe even your
company’s most valuable asset.
It is
not easy to obtain ownership of the Right Trademark. Any mark that does not fulfill all four of the
necessary characteristic set forth above will fail to help you reach your
goals. That’s why it is extremely
important, as you set out to build your business, to make sure you are using
the Right Trademark.
In
order to obtain the Right Trademark it’s critical that you consult with a
trademark attorney. While your marketing
department may be able to come up with a trademark that conveys a positive
message about the product, chances are they are not qualified to determine
whether a trademark is capable of designating your company as the source of the
product, whether use of a given mark might expose you to unnecessary litigation
risk or whether you would be able to successfully claim exclusive rights to a
given trademark. Remember - a trademark
is only the Right Trademark if it’s a trademark to which you can claim exclusive
rights! To address these issues, you
need a trademark attorney on your team.
In my
many years practicing trademark law, I have seen far too many instances of companies
investing precious resources promoting goods or services under trademarks that
are unenforceable because they are (a) already in use by other parties;
(b) highly descriptive of the product; or (c) too similar to other party’s
prior-used trademarks for related products.
These mistakes in trademark adoption can be avoided by consulting with
an experienced trademark attorney at the right time – when you are starting
your business or introducing a new line of goods or services.
My firm
provides trademark selection and clearance services to help you obtain a
trademark that will satisfy all four of the requirements for the Right Trademark. We can help you
- · select a trademark that designates the source of your product;
- · select a trademark that conveys a positive image about your product and company;
- · avoid selecting a trademark that may expose you to unnecessary litigation risk; and
- · select a trademark to which you can claim exclusive rights.
We accomplish this by working with
you during the first phase of the trademark selection process – when you are
evaluating proposed trademarks in terms of the message they convey about your
product and whether they sound good / look good. We will evaluate your proposed marks for
issues related to their ability to serve as a trademark – in other words,
whether the proposed mark may be too descriptive of your product, and other
inherent issues related to registrability of the proposed mark. Once an appropriate mark that meets the first
two qualifications has been selected, we can assist with the critical second
phase - the determination as to whether the proposed mark might expose you to
unnecessary litigation risk and whether you can claim exclusive rights to it.
Please call us today to get started.
Remember,
there is a Right Time to obtain the Right Trademark – and that time is when you
are starting out – opening a new business or introducing a new line of goods or
services.
