Navigating Trademarks: Key Steps for Registering and Protecting Your Brand

New Orleans CityBusiness published Mackenzie Rodriguez's article "Navigating Trademarks: Key Steps for Registering and Protecting Your Brand."  The article can be found on the CityBusiness website here or the full article is below.

Brand development and maintenance are an important part of any business. Trademarks and service marks can serve to identify and protect a brand. Thus, it is important for businesses to choose their trademarks wisely and protect their trademarks after they are established. The following are frequently asked questions and answers regarding trademarks.

What is a trademark?

A trademark helps consumers identify the source of goods and services at the time of purchase. For a trademark to be most effective, it's important for it to be unique to the business it represents and memorable to consumers. Trademarks can be company names, logos, symbols, and even colors or styles of packaging (often referred to as "trade dress").

Do I need to search before I choose a trademark?

Whether or not your business registers its trademarks, it's advisable to do a trademark search before choosing a company name or logo and using it in commerce. A search can ensure that your trademark is unique to your company and help prevent you from unintentionally infringing another company's trademark. Searching before you commit to a name or logo can help protect your business from the costly process of changing a name or logo, or rebranding.

Do I need to register my trademark?

Registering trademarks is recommended to help maximize their protection. In general, there is no deadline to register a trademark, and companies often begin using their trademarks before they consider registration. While some trademark rights can be protected simply by continuing to use the trademark with the goods or services, some trademark rights can be lost if a confusingly similar mark is registered before your business registers its mark.

Do I need international trademark registrations?

In general, trademark registrations are only beneficial in countries where your company is actually doing business, meaning that goods and/or services are sold in that country. In fact, many countries have rules requiring trademark owners to provide proof of sales of goods in the country before a registration can issue or renew. If your company does business in more than one country, the Madrid Protocol System is an international trademark registration system can consolidate the foreign trademark filing process.

Mackenzie D. Rodriguez is Special Counsel at Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann L.L.C. and advises companies on identifying and protecting their intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets.