DEFINITIONS
BASIC QUESTIONS
Definitions
What is a trademark search?
A trademark search contains information retrieved from an in-depth research of a proposed mark. It includes searching other marks that have similar sound, spelling, pronunciation, appearance, English translation meaning and commercial impression.
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What is a trademark?
A trademark includes
any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended
to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer
or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the
source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name. For example, some of the well-known trademarks include Coca-Cola for soft drinks, Yahoo! for Internet Search Engine, Kodak for film, and Rolex for watches.
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What is a service
mark?
A service mark is any
word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be
used, in commerce, to identify and distinguish the services of one provider
from services provided by others, and to indicate the source of the services.
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What is a certification
mark?
A certification mark
is any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended
to be used, in commerce with the owner’s permission by someone other than
its owner, to certify regional or other geographic origin, material, mode
of manufacture, quality, accuracy, or other characteristics of someone's
goods or services, or that the work or labor on the goods or services
was performed by members of a union or other organization.
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What is a collective
mark?
A collective mark is
a trademark or service mark used, or intended to be used, in commerce,
by the members of a cooperative, an association, or other collective group
or organization, including a mark which indicates membership in a union,
an association, or other organization.
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Basic Questions
What are the benefits of a trademark search?
1. Constructive notice
nationwide of the servicemark owner's claim.
2. Evidence of ownership of the servicemark.
3. Jurisdiction of federal courts may be invoked.
4. Registration can be used as a basis for obtaining registration in foreign
countries.
5. Registration may be filed with U.S. Customs Service to stop importation
of infringing foreign goods.
For more trademark search benefits Click Here.
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What is the turnaround time on your search service?
Once we receive all of your application items, we will process your trademark search in 2-3 business days. We also offer a 24-hour expedite service for an additional fee.
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What are pending marks?
Pending trademarks are trademarks that have not been registered with the Patent and Trademark Office. They are either in the process of being registered, awaiting review by an examining attorney, or on hold by an examining attorney to clarify an issue.
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What are dead or abandoned marks?
An abandoned or dead trademark means that the application is no longer pending and, thus, cannot mature into registration. A trademark becomes abandoned or dead when an applicant fails to respond to an objection by the examining attorney, fails to file a statement of use, or when the trademark use is discontinued with an intent not to resume its use. Abandoned or dead marks cannot be used as a bar against registering your proposed mark.
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What are live marks?
Live trademarks are either registered or pending trademarks. Live trademarks will be used as a bar against registering your proposed mark.
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What are common law rights?
Federal registration is not required to establish rights in a trademark. Common law rights arise from actual use of a mark. Generally, the first to either use a mark in commerce or file an intent to use application with the Patent and Trademark Office has the ultimate right to use and registration. However, there are many benefits of federal trademark registration.
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What is a common law search? Is doing a common law search necessary?
A common law search involves searching records other than the federal register and pending application records. It may involve checking phone directories, yellow pages, industrial directories, state trademark registers, the Internet, and more. The purpose of a common law search is to determine if a mark is being used by others when they have not filed for federal trademark registration. A common law search is not necessary but some find it beneficial.
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I want protect the name Blue Widget. Do I need to search and file "Blue Widget", "Blue Widgets", and "BlueWidget" as three separate marks?
It is not necessary to search and file all three "Blue Widget", "Blue Widgets", and "BlueWidget" separately since there is a strong correlation by a dominant name, Blue Widget. You, of course, can perform a search and file all three if you want. However, when a trademark search is performed for conflicting names one looks not only for the exact match, but also anything similar in appearance and sound that might create confusion (i.e. cat, cats, kat, etc). Therefore, when you register a singular name, it is very hard for someone else to register the plural name. For example, if you file and register the wording "Blue Widget" it would be strongly similar to the other two mark names.
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Should I trademark the domain name BlueWidget.com?
The USPTO is stricter in allowing domain names to be registered as trademark. In general, filing "Blue Widget" as a mark is easier to get than "BLUEWIDGET.COM". It can happen in some cases, such as Amazon.com, because that name is perceived by consumers as a source identifier. But in general, the USPTO is strict in allowing domain names to function as trademarks. According to the USPTO's Examination Guide No. 2-99, a mark composed of a domain name is registrable as a trademark or service mark only if it functions as a source identifier. The mark must be presented in a manner that will be perceived by potential purchasers as indicating source and not merely an informational indication of the domain name address used to access a web site. If the proposed mark is used in any way that would be perceived as nothing more than an address at the applicant can be contacted, registration will be refused by the USPTO.
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