Trademark Registration

A trademark is how the law recognizes your brand as yours. It covers the names, logos, and identifiers that distinguish your business from everyone else in your space. Without a registration, you may have some limited rights based on how long you've been using a name but those rights are narrow, hard to enforce, and don't protect you outside the area where you actually operate.

The registration process involves more than filling out a form. Applications need to be filed in the right class of goods or services, with an accurate description of what you do, and with specimens that actually match. Mistakes in any of those areas can cause an application to be rejected months later or worse, result in a registration that doesn't hold up when you actually need it.

Ian works through the process methodically, from an initial clearance search to assess whether a mark is available and registrable, through filing and responding to any objections the USPTO raises along the way. If an examiner issues a refusal or requests changes, he handles that too.

The timeline for a trademark registration typically runs between ten months and a year, sometimes longer depending on whether issues arise. It's not a quick process, but it's a manageable one. Most clients find that once the application is filed, there isn't much they need to do Ian monitors the progress and checks in when there's something worth reporting.

If you have a name, logo, or brand identity you're building a business around, getting it registered is worth doing and worth doing correctly.