In this article, Trademark attorney Aaron Hall summarizes the benefits that Minnesota businesses can gain from trademark registration and explains the two-step process of trademark registration.
About the Author: Trademark Attorney for Minnesota Businesses
As a trademark attorney based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Aaron Hall handles a variety of trademark legal matters for businesses.
He advises businesses on trademark issues, conducts trademark searches, analyzes trademark problems, prepares trademark applications for federal trademark registration, sends cease and desist letters to those who are infringing trademark rights, and uses litigation when necessary to protect the trademark rights of his clients.
When Should a Business Register a Trademark?
The owner of a trademark begins having trademark rights when the trademark is first used in commerce. In other words, no trademark registration is necessary for a trademark to exist. But there are benefits to federal trademark registration.
Trademark Registration Benefits
Federal trademark registration provides the following benefits:
- Trademark registration gives nationwide constructive notice to all others of your claim to your trademark.
- Trademark registration allows you to use the registration symbol along with your trademark.
- A registered trademark can be recorded with the Bureau of Customs to exclude importation of goods bearing marks that infringe the trademark.
- Registration is prima facie evidence of your exclusive right to use the trademark.
- The right to use a trademark that has been registered and in use for five years becomes “incontestable” upon the filing of an affidavit.
- Infringement lawsuits involving registered trademarks qualify for automatic federal jurisdiction.
- Special statutory remedies are available for federally registered trademarks.
- Counterfeiting a registered trademark is a criminal offense.
- Trademark registration can be used as a basis for obtaining trademark registration in foreign countries.
Steps to Registering a Trademark
There are two steps to seeking federal trademark registration: a trademark search and preparing the trademark application.
1. Trademark Search
The first step to federal trademark registration is having an attorney do a trademark search. This trademark search involves researching whether the trademark you hope to acquire would infringe on any federally registered trademark, state registered trademark, or common law trademark. Common law trademarks are the trademarks that were never registered but still exist because they were used in commerce.
Once the research is done, the trademark attorney analyzes the research results to determine the likelihood of successfully registering the trademark based on trademarks that already exist.
2. Trademark Registration Application
The second step to federal trademark registration is having an attorney prepare the trademark application. Normally this is done by the same attorney who did the trademark search, because the information learned in the trademark search can provide a helpful context when completing the trademark application.
An attorney is also useful to help reduce errors. Errors in the trademark application process can result in a rejected application or the need to file amendments and pay additional filing fees.
Trademark Attorney for Minnesota Business – Free Consultation
If you operate a business in Minnesota, you may have an intellectual property interest in your business name or product names. If you have trademark questions or need legal assistance, contact attorney Aaron Hall to discuss your situation. The initial phone call is always free.
