A trademark is a phrase, symbol, or word that is used to identify a particular manufacturer's or seller's products. These trademarks distinguish a specific company’s products from another company's work. If a trademark is used to identify a service instead of a product, the trademark is called a service mark, though they are treated the same as a trademark.

Trademarks are governed by state and federal laws. The first federal trademark law was enacted by Congress in the late 1800s. State laws still provide common law protections in regard to trademarks.

Any trademark lawyer can file a trademark registration. Any proprietor of the goods or service may also apply to register a trademark. The only issue with filing a trademark registration yourself is that not all trademarks are approved by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board. The most common reason for denial is “likelihood of confusion.” If there is a chance that your trademark confuses the general public, that’s when your request to register your trademark is denied. That's when you need a lawyer experienced in trademark law to file an appeal.

There are ways to overcome a ‘likelihood of confusion” refusal. A skilled trademark lawyer can argue for your case in several ways, including arguing the prior registration application was weak.

Trademarks should be registered only after performing a comprehensive search of federal, state, and common laws. Choosing an experienced trademark lawyer to do the searching and verifying is the suggested route to take. Just because you register a trademark federally, doesn’t mean you own all the rights to the trademark. Your trademark should be registered federally and in all of the 50 states in the US.

In order to ensure the completeness and accuracy of your trademark registration, Esquire Litigation Group's nationwide trademark law team will perform extensive research and craft the necessary documents needed to file, so you aren’t responsible for trademark infringement.

We search federal, state, and common law databases nationwide. Since the trademark registration is a complicated document, our experienced attorneys will write up the trademark application and file it for you. If you have any questions about trademark law or registering your trademark, please call us.