Registering a Trademark? Hire an Experienced Trademark Attorney

The responsibilities of a trademark attorney include advising on the adoption and selection of new trademarks; filing and prosecuting applications to register trademarks; advising on the use and registration of trademarks; handling trademark oppositions, revocations, invalidations and assignments; and advising on trademark infringement matters. Because patents, trademarks and copyrights all fall under the broad area of intellectual property law, if you plan on obtaining a trademark, patent or copyright it is in your best interest to consult with a qualified trademark attorney, patent attorney or copyright lawyer to help you properly file for protection of your intellectual property. If you plan on licensing someone else's copyright, trademark, patent or other form of intellectual property, a trademark attorney can assure that everyone's legal rights are protected under intellectual property law.

Find a trademark attorney that's right for you and your situation. Because registering a trademark requires extensive knowledge of trademark law and procedures it is highly recommended that you use the trademark services of a trademark attorney. A trademark attorney can advise you on many aspects of your trademark filing and on trademark services.

A trademark attorney should be used when choosing a product name trademark or a trademark slogan. Ideally, your trademark attorney would order a trademark search report. Your trademark attorney should then counsel you on the results of the trademark search and whether it is safe to proceed with using the proposed mark. He should also counsel you on any questions you may have, such as how to get a trademark, the cost to register a trademark and how to trademark a logo or trademark slogan. In summary, a trademark attorney will be able to counsel you on all facets of registering a trademark and trademark filing. You may be able to learn about trademark cost, trademark searching, an online trademark search, and the steps to get a trademark by reviewing our trademark articles.

Additionally, a trademark attorney can advise you on how to handle certain situations such as receiving a cease and desist letter. A cease and desist letter is written when a party believes their trademark is being infringed upon. A cease and desist letter must be evaluated by a trademark attorney who will provide you with trademark assistance.

Yet how should you choose a trademark attorney? To begin with, never pick your trademark attorney based solely upon a lawyer referral service or advertising. Lawyer referral services generally do not evaluate the abilities of the attorneys in their listings, but simply accept any attorney willing to pay the membership dues of that referral service. The referral service then refers clients to these "trademark attorneys" on a rotating basis. Usually It is almost always the attorney's own subjective determination that he or she is a "trademark attorney," yet this attorney may have little experience and knowledge of trademark law.

Advertising is also a poor method for finding a trademark lawyer. Many trademark lawyers who extensively advertise run their practices like factories, with impersonal service and an army of paralegals preparing your trademark application. Instead, try to find a trademark attorney who provides individual attention to your trademark matters, including every aspect of trademark searching and trademark filing.

If you like a certain phrase or logo but you aren't ready to use it, you may be able to reserve it for future use, which keeps someone else from taking it. You can acquire rights to the trademark by filing an "intent-to-use" (ITU) trademark registration application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as long as someone else hasn't actually started using the trademark. However, even if you file an intent-to-use trademark application, the mark will not actually be registered until it is used in commerce.

A trademark attorney is often regulated as a profession in which case they must pass a series of examinations, comply with other requirements, and observe professional ethics and standards in order to maintain formal registration as a trademark attorney

Gust A. Lenglet has been an accountant and financial advisor for many years. He is President and CEO of HBS Financial Group, Ltd. and offers online tax filing through his many web sites. He is also an accomplished author in the tax, legal, and education fields.