Keep it Legal Blog

There are many benefits to owning a trademark that’s been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, trademark applicants are often frustrated with how long it takes to enjoy those benefits. This is because the USPTO takes a long time to process and register trademarks. However, there are some circumstances in which the trademark registration process can be expedited. When people ask me “How long will it take for me to obtain a trademark registration?“, I usually give an estimate of 9 months. Sometimes it goes a bit faster, sometimes the process takes much longer. This…

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Clients often ask me to assist in protecting their trademarks “worldwide”. This makes perfect sense. If your products or services are sold in multiple countries, why shouldn’t your brand names and logos be protected everywhere they reach? Once upon a time, most products were sold locally, or only in the country where they were produced. Unfortunately, trademark law is still largely stuck in that antiquated paradigm. Trademark law is “territorial”, which means that rights are determined separately in each country (or group of countries, such as the EU). This means that if your trademark is protected in the U.S. by…

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In theory, anything that identifies your business as the source of your products or services can be a trademark. But in practice, when we talk about trademarks, we’re usually referring to business names, brand names, slogans, and logos. The last category hasn’t gotten as much attention on this blog as some of the others, so let’s remedy that today. Logos can function as trademarks just like any other brand identifier can. In the world of trademark law, we refer to logos as “Design Marks” as opposed to “Word Marks”. Of course, a logo can be a pure design, or it…

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Every business, large or small, needs to have procedures in place to protect Trade Secrets. A Trade Secret is a piece of information, not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, that gives a business an economic advantage over its competitors. Some examples of Trade Secrets include: Recipes (Coca-Cola) Formulas (WD-40) Algorithms (Google Search) Common business information, such as customer lists, internal specifications, upcoming products, and best practice guides. Trade Secrets can last forever – but legal rights in a Trade Secret only exist as long as the secret is maintained. And Now: The Top 5 Ways to Protect Your Trade Secrets Maintain an…

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