How To Register Brand Name Trademark To Protect Your Business

If you are the proud owner of a successful business, you may want to trademark your brand name to ensure that no seedy businessperson attempts to capitalize on your hard work. Thankfully, you can register brand name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to protect your business image. If you want to protect your brand image by trademarking your business name, find out how to do it below.

1. Navigate To USPTO.gov

The first step to trademark a company name is to visit the USPTO website. You can easily file a trademark application online yourself. There is no need to hire a lawyer. Head to the website to start the process. It will not take you longer than an hour and a half.

2. Search TESS

Next, you are going to want to navigate to the section of the website that contains their Trademark Electronic Search System database, or TESS. There, you should search for your company name and similar business names. The database makes it easy to search for company names, just as E-Verify does for employees. You will not be able to register brand name for your business if there is already an existing trademark for the same name or similar. Once you know that your business name is not already trademarked, you can move on to the next step.

3. Fill Out The Application

Now, it is time to fill out your trademark application. This will take some time. However, it will also help you save on lawyer costs, so it is certainly worth it. You will have to produce information about which goods and services categories you will be using your registered trademark for and the date your trademark was first used in commerce. You will also want to provide design images if there is a design component of your brand name that you want to register. Enter in all the required business information the form requests. Do not omit anything, as this will only further delay the already lengthy process. Then, you can proceed to the next step.

4. Pay Registration Costs

Online trademark registration will cost you a bit of money. If you know how to patent an idea, you have probably already anticipated these costs. Make sure you are ready to pay these online trademark registration fees when you sit down to file a trademark registration form. You can expect to pay anywhere between $275 to $325 for this online service. Once you have done this, you can click submit.

5. Wait

Now, you just have to wait for a response to your patent application. This can take as long as six months. However, many business owners get responses much sooner. Your trademark registration may be contested if it is too similar to an existing trademark, or if it is too generic or descriptive. Otherwise, you should be approved. Once you get your results, you can rest easy knowing you successfully registered your brand name as a trademark, which will protect your business for years and years to come.

If you own a successful business, do not let anyone else capitalize on your success. Prevent other entrepreneurs from using your company name by choosing to register brand name as a trademark. Trademarking a company name is simple, and it will protect your business from unscrupulous business people who want to piggyback on your success. It will also prevent consumers from unknowingly shopping at a competing business that they think is yours. Follow these steps to register a trademark for a business name. You will be glad you did when you can start including it in your company email signatures.

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