Donald Trump is promising to make the economy grow by, among
other things, loosening regulation and lowering taxes. This may sound like
music to the ears of many business people. From the trademark perspective, if
Trump succeeds in spurring economic growth, it could lead to a raft of new
ventures and therefore a significant increase in the number of new trademarks
being brought to market and new trademark applications being filed with the
USPTO.
In today’s crowded marketplace it is already
tough to find an available trademark that sends the right message about your
product or service. With more businesses starting up in the hoped-for Trumpian
boom, it will get that much tougher. Good trademark clearance procedures will continue
to be your best defense against adopting and using a trademark that could wind
up causing you legal problems. Nobody in
business is going to complain if the economy improves. But clearing trademarks
may become even more difficult. The recommendation remains the same, and will
be even more important as time goes on: Clear all new trademarks via a
comprehensive trademark search with attorney opinion letter as the first
step in your new product or service launch. Before you call the printer,
before you start working on marketing plans – call your trademark attorney!