If you are going to be using any sort of word, phrase, design, or anything else to identify your service and/or product, it is going to be imperative that you invest in a trademark. After all, you want to be sure that your brand is capable of standing out from your competition and that consumers will not get mixed up when they see it. Also, you want to protect your brand from getting infringed upon. Below, we will be going over some of the tips for getting a trademark.

Getting a Trademark:

1. Figure Out Whether You Need One.

The first thing that you are going to have to do when it comes down to figuring out about trademarks is to figure out whether or not you should be getting a trademark in the first place. A trademark is a form of intellectual property that is going to allow you to distinguish your product, service, or brand from your competition. Thus, you want to figure out whether or not it is going to be a worthwhile process to get one. Typically, if you are planning on starting a brand or business, you will want to invest in one because it is going to make things much simpler in the future.

2. Hire An Attorney.

Once you have established that you are going to benefit from getting one, you are going to need to look for a trademark attorney. The good news is, there are plenty of options available. You should be able to find one with a simple Google search. Ideally, you want to find one that has a sufficient amount of experience so that you are going to be able to get good representation and tips for creating and filing your trademark. This is going to put you in a good position to have a successful trademark application.

3. Maintain Your Trademark.

Once you have applied for and successfully received your trademark, you are going to need to keep your registration valid. You will need to maintain your trademark by filing a maintenance document known as a Declaration of Use with the PTO between the 5th and 6th year of your registration in order to successfully do so.

Overall, there are a lot of different things that you are going to want to do when it comes to getting a trademark. Not only do you need to figure out whether or not you need one, but you will need to find an attorney if you decide that you do. By finding the right attorney, you should be able to get all of the paperwork situated and sorted out. That is going to leave you with the maintenance that must be done every 5 or 6 years. By doing this, you should be able to properly maintain your property/trademark. This is a very important thing for a business that focuses and relies on branding heavily. Thus, if you are planning on building a strong brand, you are going to want one as soon as possible.