Online Trademark Searches

Trademark is a very important part of your company. It differentiates your company from the rest that are in the same category or with those that have identical or almost the same name as your company. It also differentiates you from companies that bear a logo or company seal that represents your establishment. Nowadays, jingles are also used to uniquely distinguish a company.

With the introduction of the Internet, you can now make inquiries online by going to the website of the States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In this website, you can search for existing trademarks to make sure that the trademark you plan to use is unique and can distinguish you from other companies.

Within the USPTO website, you can find the Patent and Trademark Depository Library that can be downloaded. One document that could be of important use to you is the List of Acceptable Identification of Goods, which is a list of terms used to recognize the terms that you might need to know to identify your products. There is also a list of deleted names and terms that could come in handy. Documents that can help you with basic facts about trademarks are also a good source of information.

When you do file for your application, it is worth it to visit the Trademark Application and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) system that will help you keep track of the progress of your application. With many applications being filed everyday, you wouldn?t want your application to be left in a large pile that has been submitted for approval.

Applications for trademark are subjected to outmost scrutiny before they are approved. So best be prepared to know what to do to get the trademark you want.

Trademark Search provides detailed information on Trademark Search, Free Trademark Searches, Online Trademark Searches, US Trademark Searches and more. Trademark Search is affiliated with Free Patent Searches.

What Is A TradeMark And Why Should I Have One?

The short answer to this question is that a trademark can become a brand. Even if you're business is local, a brand name is important not only from a marketing but also a customer perception basis.

When many people think government business registration documents, they naturally think patents. General copyrights which establish ownership of certain types of property like writings, music etc. Trademark registration however is used to establish ownership rights to a specific design, character, lettering style or combinations and of all these into 1 single general identifying mark.

Good examples of Trademarked products would be the NIKE swoosh or McDonalds Golden Arches. These trademarked designs are readily identifiable with the company using them. Trademarks, Servicemarks and other official registrations are good because they establish ownership. That is, you simply could not open up a fast food restaurant and use the McDonalds If you're considering a trademark, the first thing to do is a quick check to make certain what you want to register is even available.

There are many trademarks of obscure companies that may be similar enough to your idea to create confusion and a potential problem. This research can be done by several methods including the use of a patent and trademark attorney. A better approach, especially if you're a small company or one starting out, is to simply contact the federal government and request information on the process steps. The first stop on your journey should be http://www.uspto.gov to get the latest information and process to follow.

Be advised that the federal government is pushing for paperless transactions whenever possible. Their current fees to process a trademark application is 325 dollars if filed electronically. If you prefer to file the application with physical paper In addition to the application and fee, a drawing must be presented showing your design and proposed trademark. You should also be prepared to have examples of how you're using the proposed trademark - Servicemarks currently in your business. If approved, you will then have the exclusive ownership of that particular design.

The benefits of having an easily recognizable Servicemarks cannot be denied. Go anywhere around the world and even if you cannot read the language, a familiar red can with silver ribbons will announce and identify the drink in the container as Coke, the real thing! How much more valuable would your business be if you had a service mark as distinctive and as easily recognizable as a can of Coca-Cola?

Abigail Franks writes on a variety of subjects which include family, travel, health, and business. For More information on Trademarks visit the site at http://www.trademarks.openbriefcase.com

Domain Name Trademarks

As your Internet business grows, the value of your domain name increases. The issue of a domain name trademark should move to the top of your list. You need to guard against unscrupulous competitors that may try to incorporate your domain name in their meta tags to obtain search engine rankings under your name. If you have a domain name trademark, you can go after these individuals and compel the search engines to remove their listings.

As your Internet business grows, the value of your domain name increases. The issue of a domain name trademark should move to the top of your list. You need to guard against unscrupulous competitors that may try to incorporate your domain name in their meta tags to obtain search engine rankings under your name. If you have a domain name trademark, you can go after these individuals and compel the search engines to remove their listings.

What Is A Trademark?

A trademark is a distinctive item that is used to identify a logo, product, device, package or service. The trademark identifies the item as being provided by a particular firm. To protect these items you can obtain a mark from the patent and trademark office that prohibits others from trying to gain economic advantage from your mark.

Domain Name

The patent and trademark office views domain names in a unique way. The office views the http://www element as a part of the file transfer process, not your domain name. The .com, .net, etc., designations are considered top-level domain identifiers and are also disregarded for the purpose of a domain name trademark. For example, our domain name is http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com. If we submitted the domain name for registration, only the sandiegobusinesslawfirm portion would be considered for a mark.

Locators Cannot Be Registered

A domain name is a locator for file pages. When you type in your domain name, a server locates and displays files. If a domain is used solely for this purpose, it will not be granted a mark. Instead, the domain name must be incorporated into the site. For instance, Amazon is recognized as an online bookstore and the site actually has the word Amazon on every page. Since "Amazon.com" is more than a locator, Amazon can apply for and receive a trademark. If Amazon used the domain name, bookstore.com, the company would be able to register Amazon, but not bookstore.

Generic and Descriptive Terms

Domain names that are generic or descriptive in nature cannot be registered because they fail to designate a distinctive product or service. For example, sandiegobusinesslawfirm is comprised of generic terms and describes who and where we are, to wit, a San Diego business law firm. This domain name cannot be trademarked. The same result would occur with bank.com, book.com, advice.com, etc.

You may be thinking, What about Coke? "Coke" is a trademarked term because it is a distinctive term for a soft drink product. It just so happens that a brilliant marketing plan has convinced most people to refer to soft drinks as cokes, even if they actually prefer another brand!

Trademarks are an important factor in protecting your Internet business. Armed with a trademark, you can keep competitors from pulling traffic off the search engines when people search for your site.

Richard A. Chapo is with SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com - This article is for information purposes only. Nothing in this article is intended to address the readers specific situation nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.