‘The Job Search Advisor’ is now a registered Trademark name with the United States Patent and Trademark office. ‘TJSA’ is now one of 4,400,000+ registered Trademark names within the US.
What is a Trademark?
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of the two that identifies and distinguishes the source of the products and services of one business from those of others. ‘(US Patent Office) Why do you need a Trademark? To protect the name, identity and intellectual property of your business. A registered Trademark guarantees exclusive use of your business name and establishes legally your business name is not already in use.
A Registered Trademark eliminates confusion in the mind of the consumer as to which business provides what goods, products and services. Your business name becomes associated with what you do.
My decision to obtain a registered Trademark was to distinguish ‘The Job Search Advisor’ as a provider of resume, bio, and LinkedIn Profile writing services to a unique market niche while not infringing on the business name(s) of my colleagues. A Trademark will also protect my work as an author, speaker and presenter.
THE PROCESS:
Doug Bend, founder of Bend Law Group in San Francisco, http://bendlawoffice.com/, filed and managed the application process to the US Patent and Trademark office on my behalf.
Doug describes the process below:![images[6]](https://thejobsearchadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/images6.jpg)
The Five Steps To Obtaining A Trademark
A trademark is often an important investment in protecting the intellectual property of your business.
Obtaining a trademark involves Five Steps:
1. Search For Conflicting Trademarks.
Your first step is to make sure there are not any conflicting trademarks. You should search on the United States Patent & Trademark Office’s website to see if there any conflicting trademarks that have already been registered. You should then work with an attorney to run a more comprehensive search because even if a trademark has not been registered, it could still have superior intellectual property rights over your trademark if it was being used prior to your trademark. If the USPTO rejects your application due to a conflict with an existing mark, filing fees will not be refunded.
2. Date Of First Use.
Once you have confirmed there are no conflicting trademarks, you will need to complete a trademark application. You will need the following to dates to complete the application:
(i) Date of First Use of Trademark In Commerce Anywhere. You will need to include the date you first used the trademark “in commerce anywhere.”
(ii) Date of First Use in Interstate or Foreign Commerce. You will also need to include the date you first used the trademark in interstate commerce or commerce with a foreign country.
3. Trademark “Specimen”.
The Trademark Application also requires a trademark “specimen” which shows the trademark being used in commerce in the class of goods or services for which you are applying for the trademark.
4. Class Of Goods & Services.
You will need to select the class of goods or services you would like to register the trademark. You should be strategic in selecting the class of goods or services to register the trademark as there is an additional filing fee for each class of goods or services in which you register the trademark.
5. Contact Address.
Finally, you will need to include a contact address for the trademark registration. It is important to remember that anyone can view this address if they search for the trademark on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website once the trademark application has been filed.
If you have any questions or would like help in obtaining a trademark for your business, please contact Doug and his staff at (415) 633-6841 or info@bendlawoffice.com.
NOW ONTO A COPYRIGHT
Disclaimer: This article discusses general legal issues, but it does not constitute legal advice in any respect. No reader should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information presented herein without seeking the advice of counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Bend Law Group, PC expressly disclaims all liability in respect of any actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this article.