trademark infringement

Trademark protection is extremely important because it ensures that a company’s brand doesn’t get tarnished by misuse, and that customers don’t get outright stolen by a competitor due to unauthorized use. While common law trademark rights afford a certain level of protection since ownership of a mark is established the moment that mark is used, the best way to ensure that your trademark is truly protected in both the short term and the long term is to register it with the U.S.

It isn’t technically necessary to register a trademark in order to get trademark protection because common law trademark rights exist as soon as you create and use a trademarkable feature of your brand. However, many companies still decide to register their trademarks with the U.S.

There are three main symbols to indicate trademark rights: TM, SM, and ®. These symbols often appear as subscript or superscript in a product or service’s marketing materials. If you use one of these symbols, it will indicate that you are claiming trademark ownership.

If you are a business owner, you may know about the various options you have for protecting your intellectual property rights, such as trademark, copyright, and patent rights. Depending on the nature of your business, another IP right that you might possess is trade dress. What is trade dress? In the broadest terms, trade dress refers to the visual appearance of a product or service, or its packaging, that lets consumers know the product’s source.

A trademark is supposed to provide protection against infringement by a company that misleadingly uses another company’s slogan, logo, or design to confuse consumers about a product’s origin. But it is sometimes the case that a trademark infringement claim is brought in bad faith by a plaintiff who either misunderstands the law or who is trying to make a quick buck.