Practice Overview: Trademarks

Trademarks are easily the most important and valuable asset for your eCommerce brand. 

At the core of our brand protection and private label protection strategy is a solid trademark, patent, and copyright protection plan. This includes registering and securing a federal Trademarks and Patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and properly using the Registered Trademark Symbol to protect against infringers. Additionally, we implement an advanced legal strategy to help the private label or brand owner defeat a first sale doctrine defense by the unauthorized seller.

Primary Contacts

Vern Francissen

Partner

Silicon Valley

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Your Full-Service Intellectual Property & Trademark Firm

Your Company's Most Valuable Asset

Trademarks are easily your company’s most important asset. Your trademark is what sets you apart from every other seller online, which is why it is vital to your business success that you protect it wisely. Trademarks can be registered at both the State and Federal level in the United States, however, the most important trademark you can secure is the federal trademark from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A good trademark will distinguish your brand from other sellers online, and a good trademark filing with the USPTO will ensure you can enforce your rights in the event someone tries to steal the brand reputation you worked so hard to build.

Unlock Access to Brand Registry and EBC

When you register your trademark with the USPTO, you gain access to the Brand Registry on Amazon, and can also implement strategies for controlling your online sales, including determining who is allowed to sell your products and what their minimum price must be. You also are able to bring federal lawsuits against persons who counterfeit your products or otherwise try to steal your brand or listings.

Avoid Infringement: Search Before You Launch

Before your launch your first private label product, you should begin thinking about your trademark protection strategy. Jeff Schick, and other qualified lawyers, can help you run a trademark search before your begin selling your product. Running a trademark search before you begin selling is important so that you are able to register your trademark, because new private label brand names that are likely to create confusion with an existing brand cannot be registered with the USPTO. Additionally, you might be setting yourself up for trademark infringement lawsuit if you violate someone else’s trademark. This is why it is best to have an attorney run a trademark search before you begin manufacturing your private label goods. Additionally, if the attorney gives you the good news that they have not found any trademarks to worry about, the attorney can also help you file for a trademark registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Why You Should Hire a Professional

Many sellers think “hey, I can register my own trademark – it’s so easy!” And while some may be good at registering trademarks, all too often we end up assisting sellers with Office Actions or denials because they did not do a proper trademark search, file their trademark properly, or describe their specimens correctly. The end result was that sellers face delays in finally obtaining a trademark, and may even spend more money having us “fix it” than it would have cost them to hire us from the start.

What else can a trademark help with?

Beyond giving your business control over your name and/or logo, a trademark confers valuable rights upon your business. This includes the right to ensure that only you can import items with your logo/brand on them, protection against counterfeiters, and even protection against hijackers.

Read Our Insights on Trademark Law

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