Please find here updates from the United States Patent and Trademark Office during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. USPTO announces extension of certain patent and trademark-related timing deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced extensions to the time allowed to file certain patent…
A sound mark identifies and distinguishes a product or service through audio rather than visual means. Sound marks function as source indicators when they “assume a definitive shape or arrangement” and “create in the hearer’s mind an association of the sound” with a good or service. Thus, sounds may be registered on the Principal Register when they are “arbitrary, unique…
TRADEMARK “USE” IN COMMERCE The term “use in commerce” means the bona fide use of a mark in the ordinary course of trade, and not made merely to reserve a right in a mark. A mark shall be deemed to be in use in commerce: (1) on goods when— (A) it is placed in any…
The term of a federal trademark is 10 years, with 10-year renewal terms. However, the USPTO requires that between the fifth and sixth year after the date of registration, the registrant must file an affidavit stating that the mark is still in use.
A slogan is a type of phrase and is defined as a brief attention-getting phrase used in advertising or promotion. It can also be defined as a and “a catch phrase used to advertise a product. A registrable slogan is one that is used in a trademark sense and functions as a trademark or service mark on…
The United States Code provides that the owners of all utility and reissue utility patents filed on or after December 12, 1980 must pay maintenance fees to keep the patents. Maintenance fees are not required for design, plant patent, or statutory invention registrations. Maintenance fees and any necessary surcharges may be paid by the patentee…
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…
Before we submit your trademark application, we search for trademarks that have already been registered or applied for. The trademark can be similar to your trademark, used on related products or for related services, and a live trademark registration. A trademark that meets all three criteria will prevent your trademark from being registered because it…
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….
