Colorado Trademark Lawyer

Starting your own brand or business is an exciting venture. You are launching something that you believe in and hope to find a great deal of success with. The time, resources, and attention that you have dedicated to the project are important, and you want to be sure that it is not wasted. This is where a Colorado trademark lawyer can be helpful.

Understanding a Trademark

Generally, there are different types of intellectual property areas of law handled by attorneys, which include patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, and licensing.

A trademark is any design, word, design, phrase, or combination of things that identifies your services or goods. A trademark is how your customers find you in the global marketplace and differentiate you from any competitors.

A trademark typically protects phrases, words, logos, and/or symbols traditionally used to differentiate one product from another in the world market. If a competitor uses another’s trademark, the trademark holder may go to court to seek an injunction (to stop the trademark’s unlawful use).

Enforcing a Trademark

As the market becomes increasingly more global with online sales, you may want to protect your intellectual property and trademark rights. Investing in trademark protection can ensure your trademark remains as strong as possible.

An enforceable trademark:

• Guards against fraud and/or counterfeiting
• Provides legal defense for your specific brand
• Explains the goods/services sources

With a trademark, you have the protected rights to how the phrase or word is used for your own specific services and goods, but you do not have legal rights to the phrase or word generally. It’s commonly misunderstood that having a trademark results in legal ownership of a phrase or word that prevents anyone else from using the phrase/word. This is not the case.

Trademark License Considerations

You may consider granting another party trademark licenses, which are essentially enforceable contracts or agreements to permit the other party to use (or license) your registered trademark for a specific product or service. If someone uses your trademark without obtaining the appropriate trademark licenses or getting legal permission, the outcome could be an infringement on your protected intellectual property.

Benefits of Registering Your Trademark

You do have the option to register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the USPTO). When deciding, consider the following benefits:

• Your trademark will be listed in the USPTO database, which gives public notice to anyone searching for similar trademarks and provides protections for your trademark.
• If you went to court, there is a legal presumption of ownership of the trademark and its use, as your trademark registration certificate establishes ownership of the trademark.
• Trademark registration provides the basis for trademark protection in any foreign country.
• You may use the federal registration symbol, ®, for your trademark, which can help deter anyone else from using your trademark or anything similar to yours.
• Supplemental registration with the Customs and Border Protection of the United States can help stop any importation of goods consisting of an infringing trademark (or potentially any counterfeit items).

The Trademark Registration Time Frame

There are many things that affect the time frame for registering a trademark. Typically, the entire process takes 12 to 18 months because the trademark registration process is complicated and involves many steps. Unfortunately, your registration can be refused for many legal reasons. You can check the wait times online and determine how long your specific trademark filing could take.

To speed up the time frame and avoid processing issues, you can work to make sure your application, the response form, and post-registration materials are error-free.

Opposing a Trademark Application

Even if you are ready to register your trademark and complete an application, it’s important to know anyone can oppose a trademark application. A trademark opposition is a proceeding to contest a trademark application before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Trademark oppositions can only be filed when the application is printed in the Official Gazette of the USPTO within thirty (30) days after publication.

The party filing any trademark oppositions must prove a valid claim to the trademark by a preponderance of the evidence.

Make sure you continue to use your trademark, maintain all registration documents for your trademark with the USPTO, and keep your contact information updated in order to maintain your federal trademark registration.

If you don’t keep using your registered trademark in business, you can’t file any of the required documents that keep your registration alive. Also, if you don’t provide maintenance fees and documents before relevant deadlines, your federal registration could expire or be canceled, and you will have to start the trademark application process all over.

Responding to a Cease and Desist Letter for a Trademark

If you received a cease and desist letter for a trademark, it means another party is stating (or implying) that you are possibly infringing upon the trademark. The other party might demand you terminate using (or consider stopping the accused use of) the relevant trademark for services or goods.

You should treat a cease and desist letter seriously and contact an attorney with experience handling trademark disputes, as the correspondence may have a significant legal impact.

Preparing to Meet With a Trademark Attorney

Organizing your thoughts before working with an intellectual property attorney can provide confidence for your meeting. The attorney can provide helpful advice specific to your trademark issue right from the start.

Adequate preparation to gather relevant information can help the attorney understand the full scope of your unique service or goods. You may want to:

• Make a list of the details of your innovative idea and understand what makes your idea different in the market
• Create a timeline of relevant events
• Detail the background of your idea creation and be able to discuss the problem you are solving for your customers
• Gather any documents relevant to your trademark idea

Ensure you contact an attorney with substantial intellectual property experience and who has handled cases just like yours with the USPTO.

FAQs

Q: Should I Hire a Denver, CO, Attorney for My Intellectual Property Trademark?

A: You are not required to hire an attorney to represent you before the USPTO if you are domiciled in the United States. Even if not required to, an attorney could help:

• Give trademark legal advice
• Research trademark clearance before filing
• Accurately prepare your application
• Enforce/maintain your federally registered trademark
• Save you money through advice and response to USPTO correspondence/issues

If you are a trademark applicant/registrant of foreign domicile, you must hire a licensed attorney from the United States.

Q: How Much Does It Cost to Trademark a Logo in Denver, Colorado?

A: The cost to trademark a logo depends upon the filing basis and the initial application form used. Each option has different requirements that impact the costs. Getting familiar with the requirements can help when completing forms.

An attorney can address the differences in forms before completing your logo basis and application forms. A knowledgeable attorney can answer any questions you have about the logo process and all associated costs.

Q: What Are Important Questions to Ask an Intellectual Property Attorney During a Consultation?

A: There are important questions to ask during a consultation with an intellectual property attorney. You can ask:

• What is a trademark as intellectual property?
• Why would I need a trademark?
• Does it have to be registered?
• Do I have to hire an attorney for the trademark application?
• What is the time frame for the trademark registration?
• How much does it cost to register my trademark?
• What happens once it is filed?
• How do I protect my trademark?

Q: Is a Trademark Attorney the Same as a Patent Attorney?

A: Many types of attorneys fall under the umbrella of intellectual property (IP) attorneys, like trademark, patent, copyright, trade secret, and internet attorneys.

All IP attorneys work with inventions, creations, creators and other intangible work. Any IP attorney works with creators of intellectual products with commercial value, like copyrighted property including artistic or literary works, or other property like appellations of origin (the geographic area where an agricultural item originates), business methods patents, or industrial processes.

Q: Is an Intellectual Property Attorney the Same as a Lawyer?

A: The words ‘attorney’ and ‘lawyer’ are used synonymously but are actually different. A patent attorney:

• Joins/registers with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
• Is knowledgeable about patents/intellectual property law
• Can protect and maintain the security of an inventor’s property rights
• Studied/passed the patent bar exam and communicates with the USPTO for clients

Lawyers may conduct research and give advice, but they cannot accept clients as they haven’t passed a bar exam.

Skilled Trademark and Intellectual Property Attorneys Practicing in Denver, CO

If you have an idea and you want to explore the trademark process, don’t hesitate to contact a patent and trademark attorney in Denver, Colorado. At Four Reasons Legal, we can guide you or your company through the patent application or trademark process and protect your intellectual property (IP). With our team, your unique creation is in safe hands, and we can advocate for you if any dispute arises regarding your work. Contact us to reach out to our skilled team.