Most businesses will apply for and secure trademark protection for their business name and for their brand names. This blog entry discusses the benefits of seeking trademark protection.
Securing a trademark prevents other businesses from confusing customers and suppliers and possibly benefitting from the intangible value that comes with a business' name, including its brand names. These names represent the business and provide a signal to its customers and suppliers of what they can expect when dealing with the business based on their prior experience with the business or the business' general reputation. This intangible information carries great value for most businesses and it is a priority to protect this value.
Filing a trademark in the United States is a fairly efficient process. Prior to using a brand to establish value, legal counsel normally performs a "knockout" search. A knockout search is a preliminary search that is intended to determine whether there is an obvious conflict to acquiring a trademark (i.e.: someone else already has trademark rights that will prevent a successful application based on the business at issue).
After the knockout search, legal counsel files an application for the trademark. In some cases, the trademark will be successfully acquired without issue. Other times, the trademark examiner responds with questions or issues that must be addressed. If another business has a similar trademark name, but operates in a different industry, the examiner may simply need assurance that the current filer will not be unfairly harmed if the new trademark application is granted.
In certain situations, the filing process may become more complicated. For example, multiple parties may seek trademark protection for a similar name, but no party may have successfully completed the process. In this case, the various parties can decide to wait to see how the parties ahead of them in line proceed, or they could revoke their applications and choose to proceed with an alternate name for their application.
The most difficult situation arises when a business begins operating and creating value in its name or brand names and files an application after the fact. If another party already has trademark protection for the name or names, the applicant may be forced to "cease and desist" using its name and to seek another name for its business or brand. This can cause confusion to its customers and suppliers. For this reason, it is normally best to proceed with seeking trademark protection as early as possible.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.