Trademark Protection Checklist
Most attorneys agree that trademark law is a very complex area of law. Personal efforts to tackle trademark issues is not something I endorse unless you have had at least a few years of legal training. Assuming you have not, let's take a layperson's approach to understanding and pursuing the trademark process with the information and services provided by MyCorporation.com.
Know Your Rights...and the Rights of Others Against You. Learn about your trademark rights...and about the rights of others.
Assess Your Trademark Eligibility. Is Your Mark, Brand Name, Slogan, or Domain Name even eligible for Trademark protection? There are a number of factors that determine whether your trademark can qualify for protection.
Register Multiple Domain Names and Variants. Register the word, phrase, or name as a domain name. Also, save on future legal costs by preventing the infringement with a pre-emptive strike. secure MULTIPLE domain names by registering variants such as:
- sound-alike words and phrases
- misspellings
- hyphenated versions
- singular and plural forms of the word(s)
- important TLDs (.com, .net, .org, .biz, & .info)
Search Pending and Registered Trademarks. Search the database of Pending & Registered Federal Trademarks.
Search UN-registered Trademarks. While Federal Trademark Registration and protection offers valuable benefits, the MAJORITY of trademark owners HAVE NOT registered their trademarks. While not as powerful as a Registered Trademark, these "UN-registered" trademark owners still possess legal rights and may file suit against you if you infringe an "UN-registered" trademark.
To assess whether you are infringing an "UN-Registered" Trademark, you must Search Public Records (NATIONWIDE) for company names, brands, and domain names that are the same as, or similar to, your desired trademark. NOTE: Because the different states and counties do not offer a united, common database of information for these public records, each state (and every county within that state) must be searched ONE-BY-ONE.
MyCorporation.com offers a Comprehensive Trademark Search Report consisting of records gathered from 49 states and thousands of different counties and municipalities.
Register Your Trademark. Submit your Application for Trademark Registration to notify the world and potential competitors that you have secured a filing date and will be prosecuting infringers to the fullest extent of the law.
Once you are granted "Registered" status, not only will your company and its brands gain additional credibility and legitimacy, but you will be empowered with an arsenal of legal weapons that can make defending your trademark rights simple and affordable.
Regain Control over Domain Names "Held-hostage" by Cyber Squatters. Use the ICANN Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy to re-claim a domain name from a cyber squatter that is extorting money from you or illegally re-directing YOUR traffic to his/her website. If you are a REGISTERED trademark owner, it's MUCH easier than you may think!
