Trademark Attorney Alexandria VA
Registering a trademark might appear expensive—especially for a start-up with a tight budget. After all, it will cost you a minimum of $275 filing fee. And if you’re like many other businesses that are starting, hiring a trademark attorney might be out of the question.
However, taking the do-it-yourself approach does not necessarily mean money-saving. Suppose you get the filling process wrong, the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) might reject your application, then lose your fee, and it’ll require you to re-execute the entire registering procedure.
What’s more, self-registering a trademark consumes lots of time responding to issues that the trademark examining attorney raises—time that you’d otherwise spend on your business.
So, here’s one question that brings everything into perspective:
Do you Need A Trademark Attorney?
It depends.
If you’re a foreign trademark registrant, hiring a USA trademark attorney to file your application is not an option. It is a legal requirement.
On the flip side, if you’re a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident, you can process the application yourself.
However, it would be best if you work with a trademark attorney.
There is a lot that would go wrong if you took the do-it-yourself approach. Registering a trademark demands that you follow specific formatting, selecting the right filing basis, and an accurate description for your products or service. Suppose any of these isn’t correct during your preparation, the USPTO might delay or reject your trademark.
What are the Benefits of Working with a Trademark Attorney?
A trademark attorney will help you with a lot, including:
- Pointing out any flaws in your trademark registration
For instance, you might select a mark identical or nearly identical to another registered trademark. Such error might land you legal problems because of infringement.
- Helping you determine whether your business requires a trademark or not. A trademark isn’t necessary in some cases, and the typical law rights should work for you. But most often, a business needs to register a trademark to enjoy the benefits that come with its protection.
- Making you understand how to use a trademark for maximum protection
- Preparing and filing the trademark registration application that meets all the requirement
- Advising you on the probability of your trademark registration succeeding
- Respond to any issue that will come up after filing your application and submitted to an examining attorney at the trademark office
- Assisting you in enforcing your trademark in the future in case of infringement
The United States Patent and Trade Office does not enforce trademarks. It is up to you. You can monitor new trademark applications with an attorney and take steps to oppose or stop potentially infringing uses.
Common Problems of a Do-It-Yourself Trademark Registration
From the outside, the process of registering a trademark appears straightforward. In reality, however, the requirements can be confusing, and it is easy to make a costly mistake that is otherwise avoidable if a trademark attorney would handle the entire process.
The common mistake includes:
- Going for an improper filing basis. When registering, there are two filing bases:
- Use of the mark in commerce
- And intent to use the mark in commerce
If you don’t understand the difference, it is easy to choose the wrong basis. Settling for a wrong basis creates a registered trademark that offers little or no protection
- Submitting a wrong trademark specimen. During application, it requires a business to present a sample that shows the company use its mark in commerce
If you submit the wrong type of specimen, you might not get protection for your mark
- Settling for the wrong trademark class or misidentifying your goods or services. You should choose a category of goods or services in which to protect your trademark. The classification system can be confusing, and if you get it wrong can make the USPTO deny your application
- Registering an Existing Trademark
It is common for businesses to register a trademark that already exists. You should know that USPTO will register a trademark as long as the application meet the formal requirement, which raises tons of setbacks. You might think your trademark is protected while someone out there already uses it.
Any mistakes above can cost you more, as you’ll need to hire a lawyer to deal with an error in applying for a trademark. It would have cost less to hire a lawyer to do it right for the first time.
How to Find a Trademark Attorney in Alexandria, VA
A trademark can become successful and worth a great deal of money with time. And when you suddenly find out that your trademark is unprotected, you can suffer a significant loss.
Therefore, take a lot of care during the registration process, mainly because the process involves both legal and practical issues.
And who’d better deal with legal trademark issue other than trademark attorney?
The advice of a trademark specialist is priceless.
That’s why when you choose to hire a business lawyer to process your trademark, consider skilled and experienced personnel in conducting and evaluating trademark searches, filing the application with the USPTO, and enforcing trademark rights.
Careful initial trademark registration is far more critical as it creat the basis of expansion of the trademark protection abroad.
Getting advice and assistance will ensure that your trademark filing is as smooth and efficient as possible.
Work With an Experienced Trademark Attorney
It is understandable. When starting, most businesses often have a budget on the mind. And many may opt to cut costs of profession cost in trademark registration. But it is not recommendable to use the do-it-yourself approach because you might make expensive mistakes.
If you feel you’re ready to register a trademark, Mughal Law Firm can help you. Mughal Law Firm allows you to register a trademark registration service with the help of an attorney. With Mughal Law Firm, a lawyer will contact you to learn more about your product or service and begin an extensive trademark search.
Once the attorney has reviewed your information and prepared your trademark application, he/she will send it to you to approve. And a team of attorneys will be there to answer your questions, monitor the progress of your application, and take action when necessary.
