Trademarks

Trademark renewalsTrademark renewals

 

 

In most countries your application will be registered and last for 10 years. This varies of course, some allow 7, other 14. You need to confirm this with the attorney and the country you filed the applications.

 

Regardless of that, and to keep your trademark rights, you will need to keep using the name through the years.

 

What happens after the ten-year period expired? Well, honestly a few weeks before the expiration date, you have to consider if you are going to file the renewal. If you do, you will keep your rights. If you don’t, they will die on the deadline to file it.

 

In order to keep your exclusive rights on the trademark, you must renew the application every time. But the most important step is to keep using the name, because it is most likely that together with the renewal filing or in different stages of the process, you must file a Declaration of Use, showing actual proof that you are using it.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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Tips to run a trademark searchTips to run a trademark search

 

 

It is not as simple as just looking for the exact name at the Trademark Office of your country to see is a name is taken. When running a trademark search, here are the four main things attorney take into account:

 

– Similar names.

 

– Spelling variations of the name.

 

– Phonetic similarities.

 

– Similarity in meaning.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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What happens if you don’t register your trademark?What happens if you don’t register your trademark?

 

 

As we have mentioned several times before, a trademark name is only protected when you go into your country’s Trademark Office and file it.

 

If you are using a name for your business but you missed this step, you do not really own your trademark’s name, as there is no legal document saying so. And yes, that us even if you have your Company name registered, because the filing goes into different offices, therefore, they mean different things.

 

As the name is available, you are taking the risk that anybody can go before you and file it.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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Domain name vs TrademarksDomain name vs Trademarks

 

 

Owning your domain name, only means you can build a website for your business, but as far as trademark is concerned, the name is still available for anyone to go and file it as that filing is done before the Trademark Office of interest and grants exclusive rights for 10 years (this is in most countries. However, there are countries that provide less or more years).

 

By filing your trademark, you have rights to protect your business as a whole, that means nobody else can use that name to confuse your clients, and if they do, you have the legal tools to pursue them and win, something that just owing a domain name will not give you.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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Trademark vs Registered TrademarkTrademark vs Registered Trademark

 

 

Having a trademark (or brand as some people call it), means you use a certain word, slogan, phrase or logo and you associate it with your goods or services of interest. But it just means you are using a name, not that it is legally protected.

 

In order to have rights on your trademark, you need to file it before the Trademark Office of your country in order to get trademark registration. When you have a registered trademark, the symbol ® next to the name actually means something. Even if you use the symbol but your trademark has not been registered, anyone can go and file it because the name is “free” to use.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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4 tips to make your business legal4 tips to make your business legal

 

 

– Decide what type of business you are going to have: Depending on your country you have different alternatives, but this point will be key to decide from the very beginning. By doing so, you know the exact paper work you need to file.

 

– Decide your business name and protect it: This will be how people are going to find you, how you will stand in the field. So, after this decision is made, call your attorney and do the filing at the Trademark Office.

 

– Website and social media: In the past it used to be just a website and you were good to start business. Now you need to set up accounts for the social media platforms of interest. So, it is important to do the appropriate search from the very beginning for everything matches and makes sense.

 

– Have contracts: Depending of your line of work you will need different contracts. This is when your attorney plays an important part as well to guide you through your exact needs.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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How to determine the class to file your trademark?How to determine the class to file your trademark?

 

 

Registering your trademark under the right class/classes is the most important step in the process and it is a key component to your trademark protection strategy.

 

The Nice Classification is an international classification of goods and services applied for the registration of marks. It provides 45 classes in which you can file an application. Classes 1 to 34 are relating to products, whereas classes 35 to 45 to services.

 

The number of classes will depend on your interests and budget. Strategically, some large companies file the trademark in many classes to prevent literally everyone from filing the same name under a different category. However, this is not always a success, since they may need to show proof of use and if they cannot do it as a specific class is not their interest, they risk the loss of the one class.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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2 reasons to hire an attorney2 reasons to hire an attorney

 

 

When starting a business, we all have budgets and we need to take care of a lot of things that are new to us. We need an assistant to delegate so we can do the important stuff, we need a web designer so we can shine in business, maybe a social media expert to have the latest updates in algorithms since they keep changing. Then, why is it that some entrepreneurs just don’t think of hiring an attorney to be sure their businesses will be really protected?

 

Keep reading and you will find the 2 key points to include attorney fees on your budget:

 

1) Attorneys use the actual legal language in a natural and comfortable way: When it comes to contracts or website’s legal protection it is crucial to have an attorney. There are thousands of free or really cheap templates out there claiming to be suitable for your business. Or, you are even tempted to just go into a competitor’s website and just copy paste.

 

Trust me, we have seen it all. From documents claiming to be in Miami when the client’s business was in London, to terms and conditions protecting a make-up business when the person was a coach. Having the wrong document can be worse than not having a legal document at

 

So, just save and have your documents done specially for you and you will be saving money in possible lawsuits.

 

2) You level yourself and your business up: When you have the certainty that you are protected, you just stand differently. You have more confidence and you know there is no way something can go wrong. Even if a client wants to play hard to pay for a bill, it will be covered on the contract. So, you are avoiding having a daily headache.

 

We have clients, who also rather have us handling all their contract deals. So, we are here to take the blame if necessary for just closing the perfect deal for our clients. Just saying “talk to my attorney” or “my attorney will reach to you” levels you up and makes the difference in closing deals.

 

In our firm, we draft personalized contracts and legal documents. We just draft them just for you. No templates or DYI, you are paying us to actually work for you and make your business thrive and you just need to do whatever it is you do best.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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5 actions to avoid to keep your trademark rights5 actions to avoid to keep your trademark rights

 

 

– Failure to renew your trademarks: Most Trademark Office around the world grant an application for 10 years. Your attorney keeps track of this and will let you know, but if you do it on your own, you must be aware of the dates.

 

– Your mark loses distinctiveness: Anything diluting the meaning of a mark can be grounds for cancellation. So, again, your lawyer will be letting you know of any similar trademark that may do so doing searches every week.

 

– Your mark becomes generic: This mean when your trademark stops being unique and begins to be an everyday word. Sometimes brand names become so popular they take on lives of their own. Once a trademark has reached generic status, the loss of distinctiveness means a loss in trademark protection.

 

– You lose at Court: Not too much to add. If someone sues you, or you do it yourself but you have no grounds to show proof of use of your own application, you are taking a huge risk.

 

– Non-Use: This is something that does not happen on all countries, but in those that require it, you must show proof of use of your trademark during the requested period of time. Whether it is 3 or 5 years, or by the time you are renewing the registration, proof of use is a must.

 

It can also happen that someone else intends to file that name, therefore they get the benefit for your not using the mark for the required period of time.

 

Do you have any questions? Send me an email to maria@mjaintellectualproperty.com

 

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