Introduction
If you wish to register a trademark in Spanish, Chinese, or another language in the United States, carefully read this page before filing your trademark application !
In the United States, can you register a trademark in Spanish, Chinese, or another language?
A trademark can be registered in numerous languages. You can also register a trademark in any language in which you use or intend to use a trademark. In other words, if you have previously used the term or phrase in connection with your goods and/or services in Spanish, Chinese, or another language, you can apply to the USPTO for registration of that word or phrase as part of your brand mark (United States Patent & Trademark Office).
You can also protect yourself by registering trademarks in other languages, even if they are not already being used. For example, if your company intends to offer products and services abroad in various languages (such as English and Japanese), it makes logical to include all of those languages in the registration procedure to provide optimum global protection.
How to Register a Trademark in Multiple Languages in the United States
If you utilise the mark in interstate commerce, you may be entitled to jointly file a trademark with the USPTO.
For example, if you are an internet store who sells items across state boundaries, you can register your company name as a trademark in both English and Spanish.
Advantages of Multilingual Trademarks
If you are not a native English speaker, you may have observed that many American corporations have difficult-to-pronounce names. For example, my favourite airline’s name is Southwest Airlines, however they spell it with a W rather than an O. There are additional corporations, such as Verizon and IBM, that utilise just lowercase letters in their names and do not employ spaces between words (Verizon Communications Inc., for instance). These factors make it difficult for non-native English speakers to recall how to spell these firms or even pronounce them correctly while reading about them or listening for airport announcements.
A multilingual trademark allows your organisation to avoid this issue by having two different spellings: one in English and one in another language. If you were an Italian firm named “Twinshop” and wanted to sell items online without confusing buyers from other countries who aren’t familiar with American spelling customs, having both “twinshop” and “twinshop” as trademarks would keep everyone on the same page!
Who is Eligible to File a Trademark Application with the USPTO?
Anyone can register a trademark application with the USPTO, even if they are not a US citizen, do not have a business in the US, or do not reside or work in the US.
However, you must have a “bona fide” connection to the country: if your only real connection to America is that your girlfriend lives there and you visit once every six months while she’s on vacation from work (and she pays for plane tickets), it will not count as an official U.S.-based presence for filing purposes.
Before submitting a Trademark Application to the USPTO
The first thing you should do is do a trademark search. This can assist you identify whether another organisation has previously registered your trademark and may be done through the website of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If someone else has already registered your precise trademark with the USPTO, there is little you can do except make an application for a variant on that mark (e.g., if they have “Duck Soup”, but you wanted to use “Duck Sauce” instead). You must also make certain that none of these variants are too similar or comparable in look or meaning: If someone else has a mark that is extremely similar to yours but not exactly the same, you may still be unable to register yours—you should check with an attorney about this before continuing forward.
If there are no existing trademarks that use comparable phrases or designs as those desired by your company for their own products/services, then create a specimen sheet that shows what each suggested new name would seem like when printed on graphic logos within packing materials (both physical containers such as tins and plastic bottles containing foodstuffs and beverages).
The Registration Certificate issued by the USPTO
After paying your US trademark registration cost, you may seek a USPTO certificate for your trademark by submitting a form. A certificate certifies that you are the registered owner of the mark and includes information about the mark and how it is used. This is a critical document if someone else attempts to use your trademark or brands themselves with it without your consent.
The certificate will also state how long you have until you need to renew your registration (if applicable), as well as any concerns with your application or the current status of filing. It is essential to have these certificates on file since they prove that you have rights to particular marks and prevent others from using them inappropriately; this may come in useful when dealing with any legal conflicts in the future!
Is it important if the trademark I’m registering is in a language other than English?
It makes no difference if the trademark you are registering is in a language other than English. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will accept any language, including Latin and Chinese, as the foundation for your registration. In reality, if you wish to register your trademark in numerous languages, you must first execute a trademark search in each of those languages.
The USPTO only registers trademarks that are now used or will be used in interstate commerce.
A trademark cannot be registered with the USPTO if it is not utilised in interstate commerce. To be legitimate, trademarks must be used on products or services, according to trademark law. If you wish to register your trademark, it must first be used on the products and/or services in question.
If you are interested in obtaining a federal trademark registration for your company or product, we recommend contacting our experienced attorneys at [legal firm name]. They may examine your case and establish whether you are entitled to protection under US law, whether through a word mark or logo design (or both).
How should I approach the USPTO about submitting foreign-language character marks?
Foreign language characters are accepted in the application. However, while submitting a trademark with the USPTO, you must follow specific rules.
Filing an English-only application for registration and then adding the foreign language characters on any amendments or statement of use later in the process; Submitting an application form that includes both English and non-English text; or Applying directly for registration of a mark consisting entirely of non-English characters (i.e., not just one word with one or more non-English words).
Conclusion
If you wish to apply for trademark with foreign language characters, please read this page before submitting your application! If you have any concerns regarding how to accomplish this, please contact us.