How can you protect trademarks?

Answer 1

According to the US Patent and Trademark Office:

Owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides several advantages, including:

• Public notice of your claim of ownership of the mark;
• A legal presumption of your ownership of the mark and your exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods/services listed in the registration;
• The ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court;
• The use of the U.S. registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries;
• The ability to record the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods;
• The right to use the federal registration symbol ® and
• Listing in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's online databases.

Answer 2

Protecting your trademark is like managing a winning sports team-you need both a good offense and a good defense.

The offense starts with choosing the business name, slogan, or logo that you want to, and will be able to, protect. It involves taking the time to identify a strong trademark or servicemark that will be hard for competitors to steal.