What to do if a Company is using a Registered Trademark?

Introduction

If you’ve been using a trademarked name or logo for your business and someone else starts using it, there are steps you can take to resolve the issue. If attempts to resolve the issue peacefully fail, you may need to take legal action against them for infringing on your rights as a trademark owner.

Start with a Cease and Desist letter

The first step in protecting your trademark is to write a cease and desist letter. This formal letter should be sent by email or post to the other company, informing them that they are infringing on your trademark. It can be as simple as just an email with the subject line: “Dear XYZ Company” and some basic information about yourself (name, address) but it should always include contact details for you so they know who has sent it.

This will immediately notify them that their use of this word or phrase could cause problems for them if left unchecked. However, we recommend that you don’t give up too easily and escalate things further by sending another copy of this same letter again within two weeks from when it was originally sent out – this time with a demand for payment or legal action being taken against them if no response comes back within seven days (which means either paying up or taking legal action).

Keep in Mind

• Make sure you keep your tone respectful.
• Do not threaten legal action unless you are serious about it.
• Do not make any false claims or use obscenity or offensive language in the letter.
• Avoid using capital letters as much as possible, as they can be difficult to read on a small screen when sending an email or text message

Send the Letter by Certified Mail

It is important to have proof of delivery with your letter. To do this, you should send the certified mail by registered mail. The recipient has to sign for it in order for you to be able to prove that they received your letter and thus be able to take legal action if necessary (for example demanding damages).

The first thing to do is to find out if the word or logo you’re concerned about is indeed a registered trademark. You can do this by searching the USPTO’s database.

You can search by owner name or trademark, product or service class number (for example soap), and even just “word” in general if it’s not a specific word in your brand name.

Validity of Trademark Rights

Trademark rights are lost if not used for a certain period of time—usually five years after the first use or three years after renewal application (whichever comes later). If your company isn’t using its trademark and hasn’t been using it for at least two years before filing an intent-to-use application with the USPTO, then you should consider filing an intent-to-use lawsuit so that you can stop them from using your registered mark until all legal proceedings are complete.

The same thing happens when someone else buys another company’s assets: if there is no active business unit operating under the original owner’s name at any point during this period of time (and if no entity exists within which such an active business unit operates), then those trademarks will eventually become abandoned unless someone steps in and files an intent-to-use application themselves.

Claim that the Trademark is Invalid

If your company name’s not a registered trademark and it’s been in use longer than theirs, you can try using this to your advantage. You might have a good case for claiming that the other company’s trademark is invalid because it has become so well known that it has become genericized (i.e., used for any product or service). This is called “genericide” and is an area of law where there aren’t many precedents—but if you can prove this claim (and there are some cases where this has been successful), then you may be able to get them replaced with yours.

Involve a Third Party

Sometimes you can get third parties involved, such as a lawyer or industry organization, to help mediate the situation between you and the other party.

You can also ask a lawyer to help you or an industry organization to mediate the situation between you and the other party.

Take a Legal Action

If attempts to resolve the issue peacefully fail, you may need to take legal action against them for infringing on your rights as a trademark owner.

If you’re unhappy with the way a company is using your registered trademark, it may be in your best interest to seek legal action. You can sue for damages against them for infringing on your rights as a trademark owner or ask them to stop using the mark entirely.

If they continue to use the mark without authorization, you can also ask them to recall all items bearing this protected symbol and/or demand an accounting of profits from sales of products that use your registered trademark.

Takeaway

If you find that someone else is using your registered trademark, there are steps you can take to resolve the issue.

First, find out if the other company has a registered trademark. If not, try to resolve the issue peacefully.

If it’s a registered trademark and they have infringed on your name or logo in some way (for example, by using an exact version of it), then you may need to take legal action against them—but only if pursuing this route won’t cause further harm to yourself or others involved in the situation (like customers).

Conclusion

This post has covered some of the basics of trademark infringement, but there are many more issues to consider. It’s always best to speak with a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property law before making any decisions about action against another company for using your registered trademark.