Cheapest & Easiest Way to Trademark?

[ObtainADomain]

What is the cheapest and easiest way to get a trademark?

Have you had bad experiences trying to do it without an attorney? Are the forms very confusing?

Has any of you used any of the online Trademark Services and if so, which did you like best?

Gratzy,
ObtainADomain

[jberryhill]

"What is the cheapest and easiest way to get a trademark?"

By using a distinctive term to signify the source or origin of goods or service in commerce.

If you are asking about *registering* a trademark in the United States, I would suggest that you use either (a) the self-service form at uspto.gov or (b) contact an attorney if you find the uspto.gov form confusing. It is not going to be any *less* confusing to give someone else the same information if that person/form is, like the online services, unable to render legal advice or assist you in any way that makes sense for your situation.

I am familiar with a couple of "online trademark services" which consist pretty much of having you fill out forms that are identical to the USPTO forms, do not provide any insight into your specific situation that might influence your decision to register or how to register, and which charge astoundingly high fees relative to what a reasonable attorney's fee might be.

[DomainGoon]

$335 trademark direct from the U.S. government.
http://www.uspto.gov/teas/eTEASpageA.htm

You can do it yourself, just do some research first.

[Banned: timechange.com]

Also, you are safer off to go after a SM (service mark) - easier to trademark a domain name this way.

[Ari Goldberger]

The easiest part if filing the trademark online, and it is easy to do with the USPTO site. However, where you might run into difficulties is if the trademark examiner issues you an Office Action letter denying your application for some reason, to which you have to respond. It is also possible that another trademark owner could file an Opposition proceeding against your mark. In any event, the cheapest approach is to file yourself at the USPTO site. If you run into problems, you can always seek the assistance of a professional at that time.

[adoptabledomains]

Start out by simply putting a "TM" beside any distinctive logos or marks, even if you will eventually "register" the trademark for the ability to use the (R) symbol.

[Banned: timechange.com]

Originally posted by Ari Goldberger
The easiest part if filing the trademark online, and it is easy to do with the USPTO site. However, where you might run into difficulties is if the trademark examiner issues you an Office Action letter denying your application for some reason, to which you have to respond. It is also possible that another trademark owner could file an Opposition proceeding against your mark. In any event, the cheapest approach is to file yourself at the USPTO site. If you run into problems, you can always seek the assistance of a professional at that time.

Ari, what is the best method to file an opposition against a pending mark? What would be the average cost in contesting such a registration for a mark that is confusingly similar?

[jberryhill]

There is only one method, and that is to file an opposition during the opposition period after a pending mark is published. That's the easy part:

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac...#_Toc536249467

There is no "average cost", since an opposition is an inter partes administrative trial. There are going to be preliminary motions, live testimony by deposition and at trial, etc. If your applicant is located on the other side of the country, or the planet, then knowing the average cost of conducting an opposition against a party on the other side of town is not a helpful figure. I have seen oppositions which cost several thousand dollars, and I have seen oppositions which have cost many tens of thousands of dollars and lasted several years.

[Banned: timechange.com]

Thank you for your reply. In other words, if I am not a large corporation, my attempt to oppose to the registration of a trademark will not benefit me financially; on the contrary, I might be able to achieve that but at my own expense (in other words there is no monetary compensation for me for winning).

[jberryhill]

"there is no monetary compensation for me for winning"

Correct. But, remember, legal disputes are about "winning" or "losing" less often than most people imagine. Show me a lawyer who wins a lot of cases, and I'll show you a lawyer who doesn't know how to find ways to resolve disputes.

Oppositions can be, and very often are, settled by an agreement between the parties.

[ObtainADomain]

Thank you John B., Ari, 2003, Adoptable D., D.Goon, for your answers.

What I want to Servicemark is: "The ***** Group". I plan to eventually incorporate under this name and use it for any internet service I create.

The hard question to answer from the USTPO form is to give it a: "Listing of Goods and/or Services" (i.e.: the category of goods you will offer). I had planned to use "Internet Services" as my category but then I read the USTPO's instructions: "If you are not specific enough (e.g., listing "internet services"), you will not receive a filing date."

Anyone have any ideas of category I can choose to keep it general enough to use it for all my eventual internet services (general retail, domain reselling, search pages, Family Name Heraldry, etc.)?

The closest I could find was: "009 A 4/12/99 Computer e-commerce software to allow users to perform electronic business transactions via a global computer network" (http://eteas.uspto.gov/V2.0/bas202/). The problem with this category is that none of my services create software, they use software.


Also, if I have so far only used "The ***** Group" for the internet site (listing my services, not selling anything from the site), business cards, letter head, credit card account, would your guess be that I would file for: "Intent to Use (Section 1(b))" or " Use in Commerce (Section 1(a))" ?

Thank You,
ObtainADomain

[GiantDomains]

Originally posted by ObtainADomain
Thank you John, Ari, 2003 for your answers.

What I want to trademark is: "The Bryant Group"

There is no reason to trademark that, it's just a company name, not a "brand" or anything. No one will infringe upon that name, and if they do, who cares. I'm sure theres a few Bryant Groups out there already.

If you become internationally known, and don't want your company mixed up with other companies trying to sound like "Bryant", then you can get some TMs...

Untill then, don't worry about it, and...

save your money.

[ObtainADomain]

Originally posted by doberry
There is no reason to trademark that, it's just a company name, not a "brand" or anything. No one will infringe upon that name, and if they do, who cares. I'm sure theres a few ***** Groups out there already. save your money.

This is a good point Doberry and you may be right. The only thing that concerns me is that, as you guessed, there are many other "***** Groups" out there and as the number increases, the chances increase that someone will use this name for the same services I provide.

If your sure of your company name and your services, isn't waiting to trademark it because you doubt anyone else will trademark it first, a little like playing Russian Roulette?

ObtainADomain

[oberheimer]

I have a question to. Im going to develop a music, movie site with a forum and a trading place for cd´s dvd´s vcd´s.
It´s a one word 4 letter .com. I have´nt bought it yet so i can´t tell you the name. Do i need a trademark or what would you sugest.
How much does the trademark cost?
and is there any yearly fee?

[oberheimer]

I also found out that the trademark is dead. Great

[jberryhill]

"The hard question to answer from the USTPO form is [...]"

You'll note that I had suggested two things you might do:

"I would suggest that you use either (a) the self-service form at uspto.gov or (b) contact an attorney if you find the uspto.gov form confusing."

"Anyone have any ideas of category I can choose to keep it general enough to use it for all my eventual internet services (general retail, domain reselling, search pages, Family Name Heraldry, etc.)?"

Well, let's see, your eventual services are going to include "etc.". You'll note that trademarks are divided into 42 discrete classes of goods and services, and that your filing fee depends on how many classes you are trying to cover. Now, if I was planning on conducting business of the "etc." type, then I would reckon that would cover just about all 42 classes, so I imagine your filing fee is going to be pretty hefty.

The thing about engaging an attorney is that a decent attorney is going to do more than tell you how to fill out a form, or ask you the same questions and then fill out the form for you. The larger thing your attorney should figure out is "What are you trying to accomplish?" - i.e. how does applying for federal trademark registration relate to whatever business goal you believe is a relevant motivation for applying in the first place?

Some people find that to be of more value than ending up with a pretty, and irrelevant, government certificate to hang on the wall.

[HOWARD]

As usual, good advice, John.

[ObtainADomain]

John, thanks for this advice.