What is a Trademark?
A trademark is any slogan, logo, word, service mark that protected by the USPTO. The trademark holder or service mark holder has certain rights and responsibilities. As a result of the Lanham Act.
Generally speaking, the cost of getting a trademark is between $1,000 to $2,000. This is the average rate if you were to hire appropriate counsel to do it for you. And that would generally include the USPTO fees.
There are exceptions depending on the registered amount of:
- Categories,
- Classes of goods, and
- Services.
How Trademarks Will Protect Your Brand
For a business, the most important thing to consider when trademarking is branding. I have seen many businesses that have been quite successful. Unfortunately, I have seen many of these same businesses fail to protect themselves. This means taking necessary procedures to guard their name, branding, or marketing slogans. And so, I would recommend that this should be your first step. With respect to obtaining the USPTO.
The consequences for not trademarking your company name, slogan, or logo are tremendous. You can be up and running and very successful. Yet, it’s possible to receive a cease and desist letter. Issued by another company or individual that has trademarked your identity. This could require you to rebrand. Also, it could force you to stop using the mark that you’ve developed. Which could be catastrophic to your business model.
Generally speaking, a trademark lasts for 10-year successive terms. The first term would be 10 years. Between years five and six there are some documents you do need to file with the USPTO to maintain your mark. After that, you get another 10 years. In this case, you’d continue to renew the trademark with the USPTO.
