How to Register a Trademark for Sports and Recreation

Introduction

The ability to protect your brand is vital. If you do not take steps to protect your business name, logo, and other marketing materials, competitors could use them freely. This can cause confusion in the marketplace and lead consumers to believe that they are buying a product or service from you when they are not. Trademark registration can help prevent this from happening by giving you exclusive rights over your trademarked items.

To register a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), applicants must first determine whether their marks are eligible for protection under federal law as well as state law if they wish to file in multiple states at one time. In order for a mark to qualify for federal protection, it must be:

Trademarks and Service Marks

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods.

A trademark owner can use a federal registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to:

• Prevent others from using his or her registered mark without permission in connection with their goods or services;
• Prevent others from registering confusingly similar marks;
• Bring legal action against any person who infringes on his or her registered mark;

Trademark Application Basics

Trademark applications are filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). You can file a trademark application for your company name, product names, packaging designs or even slogans if they’re in use (trademarked) in interstate commerce—for example, if your business has sold goods across state lines or has used its trademarked slogan on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.

Standard Character Form v. Special Form

You can register your marks in either the Standard Character Form or Special Form.

• The Standard Character Form includes trademarks that consist of words or phrases, such as “New York Yankees” or “Myers Chemical Company.”
• The Special Form includes trademarks that consist of a design, symbol, or word(s) in a particular font. These are often referred to as logos and emblems and include things like Nike’s swoosh logo and Coca-Cola’s script.

Benefits of Registering a Trademark

Registering your trademark with the USPTO is an important step toward protecting your brand and preventing others from using it. The benefits of registering include:

• Preventing unauthorized use of your trademark on products and services in commerce.
• A legal presumption that you are the owner of rights in a mark unless another party can prove otherwise (i.e., you have superior rights).
• Right to bring action against another party if they are infringing upon your registered trademark; this includes monetary damages for past infringement, and an injunction preventing future infringement by that individual or entity.

Registering your Trademark

If you want to market your sports and recreation business with a name, logo, or slogan that is different from the names, logos, and slogans of other businesses in your industry, it is important that you register your trademark. The best way to do this is by registering with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, there are many other options for registering trademarks as well.

Registering Your Trademark With The USPTO:

To register a trademark with the USPTO, you will need to fill out an application form describing your company and its products or services; provide one drawing of how people would recognize your brand; pay an application fee; send them copies of any public records that show they have been using this name before; wait several months while they check all these things out, and then finally receive approval from them once everything checks out okay.*

Tracking Your Registration Online

You can track the status of your application by visiting the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) website.

If you filed your application using TEAS, you can use that same system to track its progress. If you filed an application through a paper form, then check out their page for instructions on how to track it online.

You can also pay fees associated with monitoring or administrating your trademark through this site as well.

First Amendment Rights of Sports Figures, Celebrities, and Fan Clubs

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution protects your right to support your favorite sports figures, celebrities, and fan clubs. The First Amendment also protects the right of these same figures and organizations to make money from their fame. However, the First Amendment does not protect the use of trademarks in a way that would mislead consumers or serve as a trademark infringement on another person’s mark. In other words: A celebrity can’t register their name as a trademark without permission from everyone else who owns that name as well; nor could they claim exclusive rights over any word they invented themselves (such as “jazz”).

Takeaway

The main takeaway from this article is that trademarks can be very useful in the sports and recreation industry. If you want to use a trademark in your sports or recreation business, register it. This will help protect your brand against squatters who try to copy your name or logo without permission, which could lead to legal issues down the road if they don’t stop. You should also be aware of any common law rights associated with your mark so that no one else can use it without infringing upon them either.

Conclusion

Trademarks are a powerful tool for protecting your brand and building a successful sports or recreation business. If you want to use one, register it as soon as possible. This will help protect your brand against squatters who try to copy your name or logo without permission, which could lead to legal issues down the road if they don’t stop.