Business Lawyers Blog
Every Texas business must take essential steps to protect and enforce its intellectual property rights, with trademarks and service marks being among the most critical. These marks represent your company’s brand and reputation to the world. The Austin intellectual property lawyers at Structure Law Group are here to ensure your marks are properly registered and effectively protected.
How Trademarks and Service Marks Work
A trademark or service mark is any combination of words, phrases, symbols, or designs used to identify a good or service. (A trademark refers to a good, while a service mark refers to a service.) These marks serve several critical functions, including identifying the source of the good or service and providing consumer protection against counterfeiting. However, it is important to understand that a mark does not mean that you “own” a word, phrase, or symbol. Rather, you have the right to use the mark in connection with your company’s specific goods or services.
Unlike other forms of intellectual property such as copyrights or patents, trademarks and service marks do not have a predefined time limit. Your company can continue using a mark indefinitely. But this means that you have to use–and defend–the mark. While you do not technically need to register a mark to use it, registration with both the State of Texas and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office offers additional legal protections that can make protecting your rights much easier.
What does it mean to register a trademark or service mark?
- There is a public record of your mark, which anyone can find by searching an online database.
- You can use the federal trademark registration symbol (®) on your goods.
- You have the right to sue anyone who infringes your mark.
- If you do file a lawsuit, there is a legal presumption that you own the mark.
- You can use your registered U.S. mark to apply for similar protection in other countries.
- You can record your registration with U.S. Customers and Border Protection, who can prevent goods using a counterfeit of your mark from entering the country.
Picking the Right Trademark
The most important consideration when deciding on a trademark or service mark is to select a distinctive combination of words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Some businesses use suggestive trademarks that rely on an indirect association between the name and the product described, such as Tesla for an electric car company. Many companies use what are known as fanciful trademarks based on invented words, such as Adidas or Xerox. You can also select an arbitrary mark that uses a real word or phrase that has no inherent connection to your actual product, such as Apple, which manufactures computers rather than fruit.
If you have questions or concerns about whether your business has the right trademark or service mark, do not hesitate to contact Structure Law Group to speak with an experienced Texas intellectual property lawyer. Call SLG today at (512) 881-7500 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.