The Trademark rights of your logo design, name or brand identity are established by either (1) actually using the mark, or (2) filing a proper application to register a mark in the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Registering with the PTO is not necessary for establishing trademark rights. However, registration of your mark can help secure benefits such as giving everyone notice of your claim to the mark, having evidence of ownership of the mark, being able to invoke federal court jurisdiction, being able to use the registration as a basis for obtaining registration in foreign countries and being able to prevent the importation of infringing foreign goods.
There are two types of rights in a mark: the right to register and the right to use. Generally, the first party who either uses a mark in commerce or files an application with the PTO has the ultimate right to register. The right of use can be more difficult to determine, especially when two parties begin use of a mark without knowledge of the other party and without registering the mark. In a case like this, only a court can decide who has the right of use. It should be noted that federal registration provides a significant advantage in a court proceeding if you find that someone is using your trademark.
As mentioned before, using a template driven software like Logo Design Studio, makes establishing your trademark extremely important, especially if you plan on marketing your identity or selling your name on a national or international level. Since other Logo Design Studio users will also have access to the same logo templates, determining the type of business, service or product and how it relates to similar marks is an important part of the Trademark process. Anyone wanting to establish a claim on the look of a mark in commerce, based on a common logo template from Summitsoft’s logo design software, should contact a lawyer or legal service like LegalZoom as soon as possible.
There are two types of rights in a mark: the right to register and the right to use. Generally, the first party who either uses a mark in commerce or files an application with the PTO has the ultimate right to register. The right of use can be more difficult to determine, especially when two parties begin use of a mark without knowledge of the other party and without registering the mark. In a case like this, only a court can decide who has the right of use. It should be noted that federal registration provides a significant advantage in a court proceeding if you find that someone is using your trademark.
As mentioned before, using a template driven software like Logo Design Studio, makes establishing your trademark extremely important, especially if you plan on marketing your identity or selling your name on a national or international level. Since other Logo Design Studio users will also have access to the same logo templates, determining the type of business, service or product and how it relates to similar marks is an important part of the Trademark process. Anyone wanting to establish a claim on the look of a mark in commerce, based on a common logo template from Summitsoft’s logo design software, should contact a lawyer or legal service like LegalZoom as soon as possible.