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Protection of trademark rights

On Behalf of | Dec 2, 2020 | Intellectual Property

Trademarks are critical to brand recognition and help businesses establish themselves in competitive commercial markets. Certain trademarks, like the Nike swish and the Starbucks mermaid, are so ubiquitous that they are immediately recognizable by consumers across the world. When a business finds a symbol, mark, or word that creates a distinguishable identifier for its products, it pushes its products into the realm of easily recognizable and trusted.

A good trademark should be registered, which gives the owner of the trademark protections and enforceability rights when the trademark is infringed upon. With the help of an intellectual property attorney, businesses can protect their trademark rights. This post offers information only and should not be read as legal advice.

Why trademarks should be registered

Registration of a trademark is an important step toward protecting a business’s trademark rights. That is because registration gives what is called constructive notice to the rest of the country that the trademark is taken. Constructive notice is not actual notice, but provides parties with an avenue to discover the registered trademark of another party when following proper channels. Registration allows provides evidence that a trademark is owned by an entity if questions of ownership arise in trademark litigation.

Enforcing trademark protections and rights

A registered and owned trademark may be protected through the courts. Often a trademark owner can have an offending entity stop using its trademark through an injunction, and in some cases a victim of trademark infringement can receive financial compensation from the party that misused their trademark. The specific form of damages that a party can receive for trademark infringement will depend on the facts and circumstances of their claim.

Trademarks are important to businesses and their success. They are assets that can and should be protected by their owners. Help with trademark infringement and trademark rights’ claims can be supported by knowledgeable intellectual property law attorneys.

 

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