A trademark is something that, when the public sees, they relate to your business. Businesses pay a lot of money to protect their trademark to protect the reputation of their business. Patent law is how a business protects their trademarks. Trademarks can be a slogan, a symbol or just the way that something is spelled.
Before a business can protect the trademark, it has to create it. Advertising executives and graphic artists will come up with a trademark that represents the business in a positive light. Many small business owners have already come up with a trademark for their business before they even begin the business. Once created, it must then go through the patent office so that it can be protected under patent law.
The created trademark is sent to the United States Patent Office, a division of the US Copyright Office, with a completed form and the fee for the patent on the trademark. Once the patent office receives this form, they will notify you. This is when you can start using the trademark in your business, without fearing that anyone will take it. You have probably noticed the R in a circle symbol under some trademarks. This means that the trademark has been registered under patent law and is protected. It has not been finalized yet, but it is still afforded the protection under patent law.
For the trademark to be finalized and part of the patent office can take months. In some cases, it can take even longer. While the trademark is still pending and rather than wait for the patent office, it is advisable for the business owner to start using the trademark with the patent pending symbol, the R in the circle.
After the trademark has been fully copied into US patent law, the symbol can change from the registered trademark, that is seen as temporary, to a small TM that is often seen under trademarks that have been registered for quite some time with the patent office and are secure in patent law.
It is not difficult to patent your trademark, but it can be difficult to defend it in patent law. This is because if you are successful in your business, others may seek to capitalize on that success by using your trademark as part of their business. It is important that you stop this before it occurs. Not only are they taking advantage of your hard work and using something that does not belong to them, but if the public assumes that their business is related to yours, your business reputation is on the line. This is why keeping up with patent law is so important. You have no control over the way someone else does business - it is important that no one else uses what you have worked so hard to attain to further themselves and link your business with theirs.
If you are successful in your business, you will want to have an attorney who keeps abreast of patent law so that not just the trademark, but the name and reputation of your business is protected under US patent law.