Introduction
In today’s commercial environment, trademarking your brand is a must. If you don’t want to go into legal trouble with your competition, make your trademark as powerful as possible. In some respects, this makes sense: USPTO trademark filing are one of the most significant instruments for protecting businesses from competition and creating value for customers by distinguishing them. However, many businesses misunderstand how costly it may be to begin trademarking their enterprises—and why they should avoid using do-it-yourself approaches if they’re beginning from scratch or amending an existing application.
A costly development
A trademark is a term, phrase, symbol, or design that distinguishes the origin of a product or service. Trademarks are used to protect customers from misidentifying the origin of products and services. When you see a McDonald’s sign on the side of your local restaurant, you know you’ll get the same high-quality food and service at any other McDonald’s store worldwide.
In addition, trademarks are utilised to prohibit rivals from utilising identical marks in their advertising and marketing operations. A rival may not use your mark in an advertisement unless they have permission from you (which they are unlikely to obtain), so they must invent fresh wording or designs—or risk being sued by you if they do.
It takes time, money, and legal skill to develop trademarks since there are tight restrictions around them: what may be trademarked; how long it lasts until it expires; and how long it must be renewed again (which can cost thousands of dollars).
The majority of applications are turned down.
A trademark might be refused for one of two reasons:
Lack of individuality. A mark must be unique enough to differentiate the goods or services from those of others and must not be generic (for example, “quick food” or “sports vehicle”). Lack of individuality is the most typical cause for rejection. If you wish to register an adjective or descriptive phrase as a trademark, you must demonstrate that there is no other word in the English language that defines your product as well as yours. For example, if you want to register “snazzy” as your brand name so that people would think of snazzy clothing when they see it, it may not work since there are numerous other terms people may use instead, such as “stylish,” “elegant,” or simply “clothes.” The PTO requires that trademarks have strong secondary meaning—that consumers recognise them immediately when they see them on packaging or marketing materials—which means that businesses must invest more time and money in building brand awareness before paying thousands of dollars in legal fees each year just to keep their trademarks active!
Confusion about the likelihood (or likelihood dilution). Even if we knew how many trademarks were rejected by the USPTO each year (a figure that has been kept private since 2009), we’d still still question why these rejections happen at all considering how much money goes into filing applications just to have them refused further down the line! It turns out that this occurs because another firm possesses another mark with identical language; either via direct rivalry between items marketed under similar names or through indirect competition (for example: Nike vs Adidas)
The majority of applications are rejected.
The owners of many US trademark application abandon them. Approximately 70% of all trademarks filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the United States are abandoned before they are granted. This is a significant reason why most trademarks are so expensive: The USPTO charges fees every three months while an application is being processed, so even if you’re only paying $100 per quarter, if your application is likely to be abandoned after a few months (and there’s no guarantee it won’t), you could end up paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unnecessary fees.
So, why do individuals give up on trademark applications? The most typical cause is that they alter their ideas about utilising the mark in commerce—that is, on consumer-sold goods or services. Many businesses begin with hazy notions about what type of product or service they would provide; these ideas may evolve over time as the firm grows. If your company decides not to utilise its trademark as intended (for example, if you decide not to create stuffed toy dogs after all), applying for trademark protection may appear to be a waste of money. However, withdrawing a trademark application does not provide someone else the right to use your mark in its place: A prevalent misconception among small companies is that applying for federal trademark protection prevents others from registering comparable marks at the state level because federal registration takes precedence over state registration requirements—this is not true!
The cost of tranquillity
It’s critical to recognise that trademark registration is costly since you’re paying for a professional to guide you through the most complicated element of your company strategy. Many firms still try to handle it themselves, which results in a terrible trademark and thousands of dollars spent to rectify it.
The cost of peace of mind is what you’ll spend when you employ a knowledgeable trademark attorney to advise you on how to effectively protect your precious brand.
It costs a lot of money to obtain a trademark correctly. You are hiring a professional to guide you through the most difficult section of your company strategy. Having said that, many firms continue to try to do it themselves.
So, why are trademarks so costly? It’s because obtaining the proper trademark is a very difficult procedure. You’re hiring an expert to help you negotiate this complicated section of your company strategy. Having said that, many firms continue to try to do it themselves.
Conclusion
Trademarks are an essential component of every business. They safeguard your brand and provide you an advantage over the competition. However, since they are so complicated, they may be difficult to master. The good news is that there are specialists that can guide you through this procedure and guarantee that your trademark application is successful!