ARE YOUR PATENT OFFICE MAINTENANCE FEES DUE IN 2020? Who can pay? Maintenance fees and any necessary surcharges may be paid by the patentee or by any person or organization on behalf of a patentee. What to include with payment? You must include both the patent number and corresponding application number with your maintenance fee…
Step 1: Choose a Strong Mark. Step 2: Choose a Mark That Isn’t Confusingly Similar to Another Mark. Step 3: Begin Using Your Mark in Commerce As Soon as Possible. Step 4: Submit a Complete and Accurate Trademark Application. Step 5: If You Receive an Office Action, Respond Promptly and Thoroughly.
You company logo helps to identify your goods and service. This is the most important method of distinguishing your brand from other companies. Please give us a call to help you protect your logo by registering it a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A standard character mark protects letters or numbers that are…
There are various types of patents that inventors should be aware: UTILITY PATENTS There are two types of utility and plant patent applications: provisional and nonprovisional. A provisional application is a quick and inexpensive way for inventors to establish a U.S. filing date for their invention, which can be claimed in a later-filed nonprovisional application….
An office action is an official letter sent by the USPTO. In it, an examining attorney lists any legal problems with your chosen trademark, as well as with the application itself. You must resolve all legal problems in the office action before we can register your trademark. In an office action, an examining attorney may…
What is a trademark-related solicitation? A solicitation is an offer of services, or a notice of an upcoming filing deadline with an offer of services, usually requiring a fee. Private companies often use trademark application and registration information from USPTO databases to mail or email trademark-related solicitations to trademark applicants and registrants. While these solicitations…
This video is a must for anyone interested in starting a business to sell a product or offer a service. It highlights the important role of trademarks in that process, including a discussion of how trademarks, patents, copyrights, domain names, and business name registrations all differ. It gives guidelines on how to select the right…
A registration is subject to cancellation for fraudulent statements. Therefore, you must ensure that all statements made in filings to the USPTO are accurate, as any inaccuracies may result in the cancellation of a trademark registration. For example, the lack of a bona fide intention to use the mark with all goods and/or services listed…
About Patent Maintenance Fees Source: USPTO.GOV A maintenance fee is a fee that is required for maintaining in force all utility and reissue utility patents based on applications filed on or after December 12, 1980. Generally, utility patents expire after 20 years from the application filing date subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees….
What is a cease and desist letter/email? A cease and desist (or demand) letter/email is correspondence that states or suggests that you are potentially infringing the trademark of another and demands that you stop using, or consider stopping use of, the accused mark. You should treat any such letter/email seriously. Before deciding how to proceed,…
