Stopping a Trademark Violation With the Help of a Trademark Attorney
If you are a business owner then you probably know that having your company name or slogan or even the name of one of your products trademarked is very important. Trademarking not only adds a sense of professional to a company or product, but its also helps keep your company name and reputation safe. Above all things, trademarking helps to protect a company name so that others cannot use it for their own profit. The most important step in making sure that your name is trademarked is of course applying for a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Unfortunately, while having your name trademarked is important it is many times not enough to keep other companies from violating your trademarked name.
There are a few different things you can do to get companies to stop doing this. No one ever wants trademark infringements to happen but they do occur from time to time. Whether a company knows they are infringing on a trademarked name or not, it is important that they stop infringing on your company right away. If they don’t it can end up greatly damaging the reputation of your company that you worked so hard to build.
The first thing you will need to do is to hire a trademark attorney. Many people will use the trademark attorney that helped them file their trademark in the first place, but any trademark attorney can help as long as they are actually a trademark attorney not a general attorney.
One of the first things that a trademark attorney will do is perform a trademark search. They will usually do this on a routine basis. Doing this regularly is a great way to be sure that others are not using your name for profit. You should not only have these searched conducted but always keep an eye out for names or slogans that are identical or similar to your own in advertisements or online. If you ever see a potential violation or infringement on your trademarked name then you will need to contact your trademark attorney right away.
If you discover that a company is infringing on your trademarked name then your attorney will immediately write up a cease and desist letter and send it to that company. They will also file the appropriate forms with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. They will also contact the company who will be required to file a formal answer to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The United States Patent and Trademark Office will review the documents and contact your attorney with an answer to your appeal. The other company may have given up the name and the case can be over or there may be further legal action that needs to be taken, which is why having your trademark attorney on your side is so important.
