Protect Your Brand: 8 Advantages of Trademark Registration | Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP
Your company’s trademarks are an integral part of its brand and identity. Registering your trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office provides valuable advantages for defending against trademark infringement by competitors and enforcing your intellectual property rights.
Key Benefits of Federal Trademark Registrations:
- Nationwide Notice: Provides constructive notice of your claim of ownership of your marks throughout the entire United States.
- Legal Presumption of Ownership: Establishes a legal presumption that you own the marks and that you have the exclusive right to use the marks nationwide (except against anyone who has been using the same or similar marks before the registration), which reduces time and money spent proving your ownership of your marks in a legal dispute.
- Domain Name Protection: Enables you to use the U.S. registrations of your marks to object to the registration of confusingly similar domain names.
- Added Value in a Company Sale: Increases the value of your business to potential purchasers because of the added protection for your marks.
- Defense Against Infringing Foreign Goods: Allows you to file the U.S. registrations of your marks with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods.
- Major Marketplace Brand Registries: Authorizes you to use the U.S. registrations of your marks to register with the Amazon and Walmart Brand Registries.
- Federal Court Jurisdiction: Permits you to bring an action in federal court, instead of state court, to enforce your rights.
- Basis for International Registrations: Creates the opportunity for you to use the U.S. registrations of your marks to obtain registrations in foreign countries, potentially with priority dating back to the U.S. application date.
If your business is operating only locally, there is also the option of filing trademark applications at the state level. State registrations typically provide protection solely within the geographic boundaries of a state and lack many of the advantages of federal registrations. However, they can be a quicker and less expensive alternative to federal registrations and can be valuable in proving ownership of your marks in a legal action.
