How to Register a Trademark for Paints

Introduction

Paints are a highly regulated product, and that means you need to be careful when filing for trademark protection. Here’s how to register the trademark for your paint.

Do a Preliminary Search.

The first step in trademarking your paint is to conduct a preliminary search. This means that you will search for existing trademarks that resemble the one you want to register. It’s a good idea to do this before filing your trademark application, as it can help prevent unnecessary delays and confusion.

To perform a preliminary search:

• Go to the USPTO website and click on Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).
• Type in your proposed mark, being careful not to include any words that are already protected by another party or which may be confusingly similar to someone else’s trademarked name (for example, if I wanted my company named “Paint Company” and another company had “Paint Co” registered as their mark).
• If there are no results from typing in just your proposed name and no other qualifiers such as “Paint” or “Company,” then congratulations! Your proposed mark hasn’t been registered yet. If there are still too many results after adding some of these qualifiers, try narrowing down what exactly it is about those marks that make them similar enough for potential confusion—you may find that removing certain words like “company” or “co.” makes all the difference in getting rid of unwanted matches!

Choose Specific Goods or Services.

You will be asked to provide:

• The specific goods or services you are registering. For example, if you are registering for paint and paint-related items, this would include things like brushes and rollers. If you are registering for all types of paints, then it would include all types of paints. There is no need to list every single item that could be included in the registration; rather, simply choose those products that best represent what your business deals with.
• Your class of goods or services—that is, the industry category under which they fall (for example “paints”). This can also be found on our website’s homepage under “Preliminary Search/Classes” once a user has logged in with their user ID and password credentials.

File an Application.

If you’ve decided to register a trademark for paints, the next step is to file an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Once your application has been accepted, it will be published in the USPTO’s Official Gazette. Anyone who objects to your registration may file a notice of opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board within 30 days after the publication of your mark. The Notice period can be extended if there are extenuating circumstances or by agreement between all parties involved.

Once there is no opposition or extensions filed (or if they were dismissed), then you’ll get a certificate of registration from the USPTO which gives you rights over that particular mark for 10 years!

Wait for Approval.

Once you have submitted your trademark application, the registration process will usually take about 9 to 12 months.

During this time, the USPTO will review your application and inform you of any problems with it (for example, if there is already a similar trademark for a similar product). If the USPTO does not receive issues or objections from third parties within 30 days after it publishes your filing date and/or notice of publication in the Official Gazette, an examining attorney will approve it as an official registration on behalf of the Trademark Office.

If there are no objections from third parties, you then have six months from when your mark was allowed (in other words, when they gave formal permission) before filing fees expire. You can check online to see if there were any objections filed against your mark during this waiting period.

Maintain your Registration.

Your trademark is only as good as the protection it’s given through proper maintenance. You need to keep up with all of the necessary paperwork and make sure you’re prepared for any changes in your business or industry that might lead to infringement issues. If you sell paint, then you should be aware of all other companies selling similar products that could infringe on your mark—and vice versa.

If someone else registers a trademark for paints that is too similar to yours and causes confusion in consumers’ minds about which one they should buy from you or them, it can damage both brands’ reputations by causing confusion among customers who might otherwise prefer one brand over another because they know exactly what brand name represents what product category better than others do due only because they’ve heard so much positive word-of-mouth praise about how great those particular products are compared with other brands’ offerings within those same categories (such as “paints”).

Takeaway:

Protecting your brand with a trademark is one of the most important things you can do to protect your business from competitors who might otherwise steal your market share by offering customers cheaper alternatives that are just as good or even better than yours.

Conclusion

Now that you know the basics of registering a trademark for paints, it’s time to get started. If you have any questions about this process or want to discuss your options with an attorney, please contact us today!