A Brief Overview of Trademark Registration
Trademark registration is required if someone or a company wants to be protected by the exclusive bundle of rights granted to a registered trademark owner. Trademarks are considered to be owned once they are publicly used in commerce. It is against the law to intentionally copy a trademark belonging to someone else even if it is not registered.
If someone unknowingly has a similar trademark as another, the first one to get the trademark registered with the United States Patents and Trademark Office will be the official owner of that trademark regardless of who was using it first. Once a trademark is registered with the USPTO office, it is protected and cannot be copied in. The good and services provided also cannot be used by a company sporting a similar trademark to avoid confusion among consumers.
Related Topics
- A Quick Overview to the USPTO
- An Overview of Trademark Law
- An Overview of the Madrid Protocol
- What Does a Trademark Attorney Do?
- Trademark Infringement
- Trademark Infringement Overview
- Background Dilution
- Domain Names Under Trademark Law
- Trademark Dilution Act of 1995
- Passing off as a Legal Concept