TRADEMARK INFORMATION
|
|
A major part of Mr. Capp's practice as a California trademark lawyer relates to trademark, copyright, and unfair competition disputes.
 | Trademark registration |
| Copyright registration |
| Trademark infringement litigation |
| Copyright infringement litigation |
| All matters of unfair competition |
| Domain name disputes |
Although not strictly required by law, formally registering a Trademark and/or a copyright provides valuable benefits to the Trademark or copyright owner. Ask any California trademark lawyer
In particular, registration provides powerful advantages to Plaintiffs in copyright and Trademark infringement actions, and at least for copyright holders, is a prerequisite to filing an infringement lawsuit in Federal Court.
Registered copyright owners also benefit from extremely favorable advantages when bringing an infringement action in federal court, including mandatory statutory damages and attorney fee awards.
TRADEMARKS
What is a Trademark?
A trademark is any word, name, symbol or device, or any combination thereof, that serves to identify and distinguish the source of one party's goods or services from those of another party. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of services rather than goods. In this report, the terms "trademark" and "mark" are intended to refer to both types of marks. Examples of trademarks are Ford, Colgate or Coca Cola
Is registration of my mark required?
You can establish rights in a mark based on a legitimate use of the mark. As with copyrights, formal registration is not strictly required. However, owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides several advantages, e.g., | The exclusive right to use the trademark throughout the
entire United States;
| the ability to bring an
action concerning the mark in federal court;
| the use of the US registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries; and
| the ability to file the
U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of
infringing foreign goods | |
NOTE: In order to gain federal registration the mark must have been used, or intend to be used, in either international or 'interstate' commerce. A trademark that is only used or to be used in one state an not be federally registered. Unlike for copyrights, state trademark registration may be available in such a case.
When can I use the trademark symbols TM, SM and ®?
Any time you claim rights in a mark, you may use the "TM" (trademark) or "SM" (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim, regardless of whether you have filed an application with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) However, you may use the federal registration symbol "®" only after the USPTO actually registers a mark, and not while an application is pending. Also, you may use the registration symbol with the mark only on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the federal trademark registration.
How do I stop a third party infringing my Trademark?
A trademark infringement action may be brought in either state or federal court. In federal court a federally registered trademark is protected form infringement under the Lanham Act. The owner of a trademark is entitled to the exclusive right to use the mark. This entitlement includes the ability to prevent the use, by unauthorized third parties, of a confusingly similar mark. Marks used by unrelated parties are confusingly similar if, by their use on the same, similar, or related goods or services, the relevant consumer population would think the goods or services come from the same source.
"Confusingly similar" is determined by looking at all the circumstances of the alleged infringement. Crucial to this determination is the nature of the goods or services which the infringer is supplying and the actual marks used.
FOR A FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION CALL 888 558 6275 for a California trademark lawyer