Trademark Attorneys in Washington DC

Applying for a trademark is easy with the right attorney

Some of the most easily recognizable symbols in our culture are trademarks. These include things like McDonald's golden arches, Nike's swoosh, and Pepsi's red, white, and blue globe. Without the ability of a company to trademark things like distinctive names, logos, packaging designs, and slogans, it would be hard for any business to gain a foothold in a crowded marketplace.

If you are considering introducing a new product, it is extremely important to trademark different original aspects of that product's likeness. One city where many trademarks have been registered in recent years is the nation's capitol, Washington DC. If you live in the Washington D.C. area, you should certainly consider contacting a DC trademark attorney to assist you with obtaining and protecting your trademark. To help you understand the process, here are the steps one must take to receive a trademark as well as the many ways an experienced trademark lawyer can help you.

Steps on Registering a Trademark

The first step is deciding on the trademark you want to use. This can be a distinctive name, logo, design, phrase, or picture that differentiates your product from similar products that may already be on the market. The key here is the fact that the trademark must be distinctive. You may think your idea is original, but someone else may already be using it. You should always make sure that your trademark is completely distinctive before you begin using it. Thankfully, the US Patent and Trademark Office's website has a trademark search engine named TESS to help with this process.

Secondly, you'll need to create a clear depiction of this trademark. If it is a name, word, or phrase, this will not be very difficult. If it is a logo, you will need to create an exact representation of what this logo should look like. Whatever the case, you will need to include this depiction when you submit all the paperwork for your trademark.

Third, you have to submit your application for the trademark. This can be done using the USPTO's application system known as TEAS. Using this application, you have the ability to submit the application electronically online. When you submit your application, you will be given a serial number that you should make sure to record somewhere for safe keeping.

The final step is waiting. This wait can seem extremely long. On average, it may take five to six months for your trademark to be processed.

This may seem like a very simple process. Unfortunately, it really isn't. Registering a trademark is a lot more complicated than it seems, and a lot can go wrong. This is why it is very helpful to hire a trademark attorney.

Benefits of Hiring a Trademark Attorney

First of all, a trademark attorneys will tell you if your logo, name, word or phrase is unique enough to be granted by the government. No one wants to wait around for six months to only end up being sent a rejection. While you can search for existent trademarks using the USPTO's search engine, the trademark attorney will be much more experienced at performing a much more exhaustive search to determine whether or not a trademark already exists.

Creating "clear depictions" of logos, designs, and images can be quite difficult. Also, the different parts of the government's trademark application can be quite complex. To make sure there is no room for error, you should have a trademark attorney assist you with these. In fact, you won't have to do much work. Any decent trademark attorney will complete all of this work for you. That is one of the reasons he or she is there for.

Many trademarks are rejected after the first application for what could be a number of different "objections" that a layman will have a hard time trying to decipher. The lawyer will be familiar with all of these and will be able to address them in the proper fashion. This way, if you trademark is rejected the first time, you will be able to resubmit it with the lawyer's help and likely receive your trademark successfully.

Lastly, another part of trademark lawyer's job will be to protect your trademark after you have started using it. This will include from any challenges to your ownership of the trademark as well as infringement by other individuals who try to copy it.

Over all, the ways a trademark lawyer can help a person seeking a trademark are nearly limitless. If you are considering registering a trademark in Washington DC, you should certainly consider hiring an experienced Washington DC trademark attorney.