Trademarks: Five Facts

February 14th, 2013 by admin No comments »

A trademark is a symbol, sign, or other signifier used to uniquely identify a service or product in connection with a certain brand, company, person, or other legal organization.

In this article, we’ll take a look at a few different facts about trademarks and try to clarify some of the commonly misunderstood aspects of registration, use of TM and SM, and the origins of trademarks themselves.

1. Trademarks are different from copyrights and patents.

A copyright is a type of intellectual property protection that applies to works that carry “unique authorship” and have been “fixed in a tangible medium.” In other words, copyrights are eligible for images, videos, songs, sound recordings, architectural works, and other works–but ideas are not eligible for copyright protection.

Some types of works, including logos, may be eligible for both copyright and trademark protection. However, the scope of these protections are different: a copyright protects the unauthorized use or distribution of an image, while a trademark protects the way the image is used in connection with a service, product, or brand. Trademarks are inherently commercial, while copyrights may not be. » Read more: Trademarks: Five Facts

Need for a Trademark Infringement Lawyer

February 14th, 2013 by admin No comments »

Just like a patent, a trademark is a protection provided by the Patent and Trademark Attorney. Nevertheless, patent and trademark are not one and the same. A patent is usually for a new invention like a machine or process or a chemical compound whereas, a trademark is protection for a name or word or design or even graphical representation of a company to distinguish its products from another company’s product. By registering trademarks, one can restrict others from taking undue advantage of their company’s reputation in the market. In other words, if you register your trademark, no one else except you can use it for promotional or advertising purposes.

In the recent years, trademarks are ubiquitous and the most commonly used trademarks include brand names or logos or advertising caption. One of the major advantages of registering a trademark is that you can establish a direct relationship with your customers by communicating about the quality of your products or by informing the services you offer to them. Hence, by having a trademark, your company can have a brand image among the public, which will take your business to higher level. However, remember that you can get benefitted only when you protect your trademark from infringement.

Trademark infringement refers to the unauthorized use of registered names or logos or designs of a company by another person or company. Use of similar designs or symbols or logos or words to that of registered ones also comes under infringement. Apart from trademark infringement, the owner can also file cases against those who caused trademark dilution. Trademark dilution is nothing but diluting the uniqueness of a trademark purposely by another person or company. » Read more: Need for a Trademark Infringement Lawyer