Part 1 of my five-part series on clearing unused trademark registrations off the federal register. The series list is at the end of this post. Has this happened to you? You have built a real business under a real brand….
When clients contact me about registering a trademark, we always discuss whether they want to protect the name of their business or product, their logo, or both. Many clients assume that registering a trademark protects both the name and the…
Clients frequently ask right before or after filing a trademark application if they can start using the ® symbol? The answer is no, not yet. The reason is worth understanding, because using it too early can actually cause problems down…
Here’s a question I get more often than you’d think, usually from clients who make a part that ends up buried inside someone else’s (or their own) larger product: If my trademark is only used on a component that lives…
If you have received a cease-and-desist letter asserting a design patent, or if you are already a defendant in a design patent infringement lawsuit, your first instinct may be to wonder whether the patent is even valid. It is a…
When filing a U.S. trademark application based on a foreign application or registration, whether under Section 44 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or through the Madrid Protocol, a common question arises: Do the goods and…
Having personally worked with a venture capital firm in the past few years, I’ve come to understand that VC firms handle marketing in different ways. Some are totally indifferent or disinterested. Some endlessly promote themselves. Some seek to market both…
I usually try to write a lot of educational content for inventor and brands. Most of it does not single out a particular industry or technology, but instead talks about patent law, patent processes, and how the Patent Office operates. …
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is closed today, January 26, 2026, due to the severe weather in and around Washington, D.C. This is the second separate weather-related closure of the Office this year, and the third closure in the…
If you own a registered trademark, you have already taken the most important step toward protecting your brand. However, trademark registration is not a final destination. You have to monitor your trademark to stop infringement, keep it from becoming diluted,…