Orange County Trademark Application Attorney

If you intend to start a new company, are marketing products or services of any kind, and want to establish your brand in the United States, you need to register your name as a trademark. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) manages trademark registration at the federal level, and there are also state-level trademark offices for each state in the country. If you intend to file a trademark application in Orange County, a trademark application attorney is a great asset.

Technically you do not need an attorney to complete the trademark application process. However, having legal counsel during this process will make it much faster and easier. Your legal team can help ensure the highest possible level of trademark protection for your intellectual property. The focus of The Kinder Law Group is trademark law, and we can guide you through the trademark application process with confidence.

Why Should I Hire an Orange County Trademark Application Attorney?

The attorneys at The Kinder Law Group in Orange County, CA, have years of experience working with trademarks of all kinds, navigating the policies and procedures of the USPTO, and dealing with unique trademark issues, including registration, infringement, and trademark renewal. Our team provides client-focused legal counsel, meaning we will take time to get to know you and learn as much as we can about your trademarks, so we can provide the most robust legal services possible.

Your Orange County trademark application lawyer will review your intended trademark and help you determine whether you are likely to encounter any obstacles or opportunities when it comes to application for registering your trademark. Whether you need to register your trademark for nationwide use, for use in California, or at the local level, we can guide you through the appropriate channels and help you determine the best approach to your unique situation.

While it may not be strictly necessary to hire an attorney for the trademark application process, having legal counsel on your side through the application process offers several advantages. First, you will be less likely to make the common errors that many trademark applicants make, such as filing under the wrong classification, failing to include an appropriate trademark specimen, or neglecting to indicate all the uses you intend for your trademark.

What to Expect With Trademark Application

You can begin the trademark application process on the USPTO website. However, navigating the website can be difficult without legal counsel. First, you must locate the appropriate form for your purposes. Registering a trademark not only entails establishing your legal ownership over the trademark but also protecting the uses you intend for the trademark. You need to provide a complete and accurate description of the goods and services you intend to commercialize using your trademark. You must also determine the appropriate classification for your application. For example, do you plan to market your trademarked goods and/or services locally, statewide, nationwide, or internationally? There are different application processes for each.

Your Orange County trademark application attorney will guide you through the steps you must complete to submit your trademark application to the USPTO. However, even if you complete every element of your application accurately, there is no guarantee the USPTO will approve your trademark. If your application is contested or rejected for any reason, your Orange County trademark application lawyer can help you draft a response to the USPTO in the form of a petition to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

It is also vital to remember that your interaction with the USPTO does not end once you have your trademark approved and registered. You will need to file periodic renewals of your registered trademark. After five years have passed since your registration, you must complete Section 8 and Section 15 affidavits for post-registration filing, which form a Combined Declaration of Use & Incontestability. These forms ensure your continued trademark protection, effectively notifying the USPTO that you are still using your registered trademark for its original intended purpose. After 10 years, you must renew your trademark registration.

Trademark Application Requirements

The USPTO upholds strict requirements for your trademark registration application:

1. All trademark applications are public records once submitted. It’s vital to understand that all the personal information you include with your application will become public record. If you register a trademark for your business, you can include personal data and information related to your business. Your Orange County trademark application attorney will help ensure your trademark application contains only required information and will work with you to prevent any information you do not wish to be published from becoming part of the public record.
2. You will need to decide what type of trademark you want to register. Are you applying to register a standard character trademark or a special form trademark? Do you know the differences, or which one would apply best to your intended trademark? Your attorney at The Kinder Law Group can help you determine the appropriate filing status for your trademark application.
3. Next, you will need to complete a   to ensure there are no existing trademarks that would be confusingly similar to your own. For example, if you intend to sell a specific type of goods under your trademark, but another trademark in the same market sector already exists and is confusingly similar to your own, you may need to consider making adjustments to prevent any potential infringement claims from the other trademark’s owner.
4. The next step is determining your filing basis. The two options are “commercial use” or “intent to use.” “Commercial use” applies when you are using your trademark to sell goods and/or services in the U.S., and “intent to use” means that you have not started actively using your trademark for commercial purposes, but intend to do so within the next three to four years.
5. If you plan to file under a commercial use or “already-in-use” filing basis, you will need to submit a specimen of how you use your trademark. This does not mean sending a printed picture of your logo or trademarked image. For example, if you sell goods with your trademark, you must send a sample of the goods with your application, complete with the date you first used the trademark.
6. Finally, you must choose the appropriate form to file your initial application. The USPTO offers the Trademark Electronic Application System. Your Orange County trademark application attorney will help you use this system correctly to prevent any procedural issues from interfering with your application.

The Kinder Law Group can help with applications for trademarks that you are currently using (“Already–In-Use”) or trademarks that you want to use in the future (“Intent-To-Use”).

No matter what type of trademark application you require, The Kinder Law Group can help. Our team has years of experience offering focused legal representation in the area of intellectual property law. We know how to navigate the policies and procedures of the USPTO with confidence on behalf of our clients and can significantly streamline your trademark application process. If you are ready to file your trademark application on an intent-to-use or already-in-use basis, contact us and find out how we can assist you.