legal, united-states, trademarkI have an idea I want to manifest into a business. There’s an available domain that I plan to use as the trade name, domain, and trademark. The idea is basically an online service (unrelated example: think yelp but payment for reviews). I plan to build up a lot of buzz, then launch the product and see where it goes. The problem is with all the buzz, someone can trademark my brand and steal it before or after launch.
Trademark. Common law for trademarks only cover the state you launch the product in. Since my idea is an online service, I’m worried if after launch, someone else will trademark my domain, brand, etc. I really can’t afford to shell out $275 for a trademark for something that may not even take off, much less hire an attorney for a few grand. I’d rather spend the limited budget on product dev and marketing for getting traction, rather than trademarking something that may not even exist. If someone else were to try to trademark my domain and brand, is there any course of rebuttal I can take? Some steps I plan to do:
a. take screenshots of my business using the mark in commerce first with date
b. take screenshots of registering the domain name with date
c. take screenshots of “no records found” for the trademark in the USPTO database with date
d. use “TM” after my brand all over the website
e. take screenshots of actual monetary transactions using the mark with date
Are there any other measurements I can take to secure my brand? What path of action do you recommend?
Trademark rights are created by using a mark in commerce. Translation: when you start selling stuff with your mark on it, congratulations! you have trademark rights. You can take the extra step of registering that trademark, which gives you better rights. This is often a very good idea, but it’s not, in a strict sense, required.
Talking about an upcoming product and getting buzz will not satisfy the “use in commerce” requirement. You can file what’s called an “intent-to-use” application. (See 15 USC 1051(b).) This is sort of like a placeholder. You get the registration process started, but you won’t get the registration itself – or the underlying trademark rights – until you start actually selling the product.
You can definitely do trademarks yourself, and the filing fee for one class is only $225. But you should learn more first, or you might mess it up and waste a lot of time. And hiring a trademark lawyer to clean up your mess is always more expensive than hiring one to do it right the first time.
Domain register date is a matter of record. A screen shot can be hacked.
USPTO database has dates
Don’t TM your brand all over you web site if you don’t have the TM.
In reality they are not going to encroach on the trademark if they can’t get the domain name. That would just drive traffic to your web site. Domain names are cheap - buy up variations.
That’s a very good question, I wanted to do the same with my product before launch, its a good idea because you need a customer base to start with else you won’t stay in be in business for long. I found out I could still TM the same name under different pretenses, due to what the product does, even though the TM name was taken. All and all, the lawyer suggested to just re-brand and find a trade marketable name like “Apple”. In my opinion I say wait to TM, unless you have competitors, have everyone you speak with about the product sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. I also suggest you get a free consultation with a lawyer. Majority of the lawyers will do a free consultation. Building buzz is good, IP protection is better. Good Luck!
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