Benefits of Registering a Trademark

Introduction

Trademarks are a symbol of your company, and they can be used to help establish your brand. They provide many benefits, including:

Nation-wide protection

A trademark is valid and enforceable in the entire country. This means that your trademark is protected in all 50 states, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

You will also have nationwide protection for your trademark if you register it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Exclusive Rights to Use the Trademark

You can stop others from using the same or similar trademark in a way that is likely to cause confusion. To do this, you must show there would be a likelihood of confusion between your mark and another person’s mark if both were used together.

You can stop others from using an identical or similar trademark that is not registered as yours if:

• They have used an identical or similar trademark before you applied for registration (or had it registered) anywhere in the world; or
• They start using it after your application has been published but before your application has been refused, withdrawn, knocked back, expired, or lapsed.

Public Notice of your Claim of Ownership

Public notice of your claim of ownership is key to the protection of your trademark. A trademark registration will allow you to put a public notice on record that you own this mark and that someone else cannot use it without your permission. This means that if someone tries to register a new trademark or use one in commerce, they have no right to do so without your permission.

Exclusive Rights

If you register your trademark, you’ll have exclusive rights to sell the product or service bearing that trademark. This means you can sue for infringement if someone else uses your trademark in connection with a similar product or service and prevent others from using the mark or selling a similar product or service. You can also prevent others from using any confusingly similar marks, preventing them from taking advantage of customers who might believe they’re dealing with you.

Right to use ® Symbol

You can use the ® symbol on your registered trademarks. This is a powerful symbol that lets others know you’ve claimed ownership of your trademark and are using it for business purposes. It gives consumers confidence in the quality of your products and services, as well as indicates that you have met certain standards with regard to product design, marketing material, etc.

It’s important to note that unregistered trademarks do not have a ® symbol next to them; this means they are not protected under federal law by way of registration with the USPTO.

Ability to File a Lawsuit under Federal Law in Federal Court

Federal courts have specific procedural rules that may be more favorable to you than state courts. Because federal courts have nationwide jurisdiction, they are required to hear any lawsuit filed in a particular state under their jurisdiction. This means that if you register your trademark with the USPTO and need to file an infringement action in federal court, you can do so anywhere across the country. The plaintiff also has nationwide service of process when suing on federal trademark registration.

Ability to Bring an Action in U.S. Customs Service

You can bring an action concerning the trademark in US Customs Service to prevent the importation of infringing foreign goods.

A federal court has exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving trademarks, which means that only federal courts may adjudicate disputes arising from the infringement of a federally registered trademark.

Listing in the USPTO’s Online Databases

You can search the USPTO’s online databases to find out if someone else has registered a trademark that is similar or identical to yours. This can help you avoid potential trademark conflicts, as well as learn more about your competitors and their branding strategies.

Trademark registration also provides public notice of your rights in the mark and gives you priority over other parties who may seek to register similar marks in the future.

Trademark registration allows you to use ® (or ™ for unregistered marks) after your mark on products, packaging, advertising material and company documents such as invoices.

Takeaway

You can use the ® symbol to market your business, brand and products. This lets consumers know that you own the trademark and that they should not try to use it in their own work or business.

Your trademark will be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is a federal agency within the Department of Commerce. The USPTO maintains a database of federally registered trademarks, so others will know if someone else has already taken ownership of a similar mark or name for their product or service—and what information about them is available publicly through this database as well as through other sources like trade journals and newspapers.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many benefits to registering a trademark. You can protect your brand and prevent others from using it in their businesses. The registered mark will give you exclusive rights to use it in your business, and it will also allow you to sell products with this symbol on them. If someone else tries to use the same or similar name for their business, they may be forced by law to change their name or stop using it altogether