For U.S. federal trademark applications, the standard deadline to make a response to an office action is three (3) months from the date the office action was sent. Failing to respond by the deadline will result in abandonment of the trademark application. However, it is possible to obtain an extension of time to respond.
How to Obtain a Trademark Extension of Time
An extension of time to take action following a trademark office action—whether non-final or final—requires filing an explicit request for an extension by the original 3-month deadline and paying an official fee (currently $125 if filed electronically). The official fee is a fixed amount and it does not matter how many classes of goods or services are in the application. The extension is basically automatically granted upon filing the request and paying the fee. It provides a single 3-month extension of the original deadline to make a substantive response or appeal. In other words, after obtaining an extension the applicant is able to substantively respond to the office action, or to appeal from a final office action, up to six (6) months from the date the office action was sent.
Only one extension of each office action deadline is possible, however. Six (6) months is the maximum period to take action when such a response is necessary. Although it is still possible to separately obtain extensions for each of the different deadlines associated with different office actions.
Also, the extensions discussed here only apply to office action response deadlines. For instance, extensions of time to file a statement of use (SOU) following allowance of an intent-to-use (ITU) application are treated differently—those are for six (6) month periods and up to five (5) such extensions are available.
Additionally, the shortened 3-month response deadline, and the possibility of requesting a 3-month extension of time, will only arise for post-registration office actions beginning sometime in the spring or early summer of 2024. Until then, post-registration office actions will have 6-month response deadlines.
Extensions Inapplicable to Madrid Protocol Extensions
For Madrid Protocol extension applications based on foreign priority rights the response deadline for an office action is instead always six (6) months. There are no extensions available to that 6-month response deadline in Madrid Protocol extension trademark applications.
Missed Deadlines
If a response deadline is missed, it may be possible to file a petition to revive an application with the payment of an official fee. Alternatively, an applicant can often re-apply and start the application process over again after abandonment.
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
An appropriate response to infringement (or misappropriation) will depend on which type(s) of intellectual property (IP) rights are involved. While some forms of infringement can be enforced by the government, prosecutors rarely take up disputes between competitor businesses. This leaves it up to the IP owner to pursue a civil remedy. Therefore, the first step is generally to conduct your own investigation to ascertain your IP ownership rights, ascertain the identity of the infringing party or parties, preserve evidence of the infringement, and perform a legal analysis to confirm that the conduct in question is prohibited by law. Following an investigation, a cease & desist (demand) letter could be sent, a lawsuit initiated, or possibly other action taken.
Tip: Consider implementing a proactive monitoring program to search for and identify potential infringement of your IP. No one else will identify infringement for you.
As part of your initial investigation of infringement, the legal analysis should consider:
do you have a chain of title to the IP (that is, can you prove ownership)?
does the conduct fall within the scope of your enforceable exclusive rights or is the conduct permitted by law (such as a “fair use” under copyright law)?
did the other party have permission? , perhaps impliedly
what jurisdiction(s) is the infringer located in?
what remedies are available for the type of infringement involved?
Following an initial investigation, which should be performed with the assistance of a knowledgeable attorney, it is common to send a cease & desist or other demand letter. This puts the infringer on notice of the claim of infringement, which can remove innocent infringer defenses going forward, trigger the accrual of damages, etc. A letter might be sent to a publisher, distributor, web host, etc. as well, which can have significance under safe harbor provisions for some types of IP. If a letter is ineffective, or simply not desired, litigation or certain non-litigation action should be considered.
As to litigation, patent and copyright actions are handled exclusively by U.S. federal courts and generally require having a patent or copyright registration (at least for copyrightable United States works) before filing suit. Trademark, trade secret, cybersquatting, and false advertising actions can sometimes be brought in either federal or state court. A trademark registration is not required to bring suit in the U.S. A statute of limitations or equitable limits may apply, such as a 3-year limit for copyright infringement claims and a 6-year limit on back damages for patent infringement.
Remedies may be available outside of courts as well, though often without monetary recovery. For example, administrative agencies such as Customs & Border Protection and the International Trade Commission can block or exclude importation of infringing goods, and a copyright small claims action may be available. Online platforms and marketplaces may also have their own IP dispute resolution procedures and mandatory arbitration (e.g., UDRP, URS) may apply to domain name disputes.
With some exceptions, many IP rights are generally enforceable on a jurisdictional or territorial basis. If infringement implicates activities in another country, the available remedies and requirements to pursue a claim can vary widely and you may need to consult competent foreign legal counsel.
Many IP disputes reach settlements, though it cannot be assumed that parties will be able to reach a pretrial settlement. When considering bringing an infringement or misappropriation suit, bear in mind that awards of attorney’s fees are not always available or likely. The cost to pursue an IP lawsuit might exceed the monetary recovery, though the benefits of stopping infringement or misappropriation may still be worth the unrecoverable expenses of a suit in some situations.
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
Here is a common scenario. Your business is planning to release a new product but wants to avoid infringing anyone else’s IP. What should you do? To avoid infringing anyone else’s IP, you should consider proactive clearance or freedom-to-operate (FTO) efforts, ideally before the new product is commercially launched. Such efforts are not legally mandated but should be tailored to your businesses’ risk tolerance in light of the typical costs of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation. The scope of these efforts will depend upon the type of IP involved. Specific efforts may also depend on where you are planning to release the product, geographically. The following discussion focuses on the USA.
General Tips
Consider implementing overarching policies and protocols to reduce IP infringement (or misappropriation) risks. Educate and supervise staff accordingly. Do not simply assume that employees will already understand or care about IP infringement and misappropriation risks.
Make reasonable efforts to avoid infringement, including proactive clearance/FTO efforts where appropriate. But accept, as a cost of doing business, that despite those efforts there will always remain some risk that a “troll” will make an IP infringement claim of dubious merit. Failing to make reasonable efforts will just make it easier for others to target you with infringement claims that are expensive to defend.
When making goods or materials at the request of a customer (e.g., private label goods), be cautious of harsh and potentially predatory indemnity or warranty terms in purchase agreements. These can come into play if the customer is requesting infringement—either intentionally or merely negligently—while passing all infringement liability onto your business. You might be agreeing to assume IP infringement risks that far exceed the commercial value of the contract. This is also a concern where infringement liability may depend on customer actions outside your control.
It is also recommended to obtain a business insurance policy with coverage for unintentional trademark and copyright infringement (e.g., “advertising injury” coverage without major exclusions or limiting definitions). However, patent infringement coverage is not found in typical general business policies and is uncommon (because its cost/benefit tradeoff is rarely attractive).
Patents
For patents, the most common type of patent infringement has essentially a strict liability character and infringement does not depend on whether you had actual knowledge of the other party’s patent(s). However, though knowledge and intent (willfulness) can impact damages. Also, indirect infringement—a category of certain types of infringement—may require knowledge of the patent and that your activities infringe.
Consider a pre-launch patent FTO study that initially involves a search for any potentially conflicting patents, followed by a legal analysis. Proactively performing a patent FTO study allows you to find potentially problematic patents before they find you. That makes possible certain risk reduction efforts, such as an opinion of counsel, a design around, seeking a license, etc.
Trademarks
For trademarks, infringement has essentially a strict liability character and infringement does not depend on whether you had actual knowledge of the other party’s trademark. Liability can arise if there is a likelihood of confusion, even in the absence of any actual confusion by consumers. Trademark infringement does not have to be willful to result in a damages award. Also, there is a presumption that a trademark owner can obtain an injunction against use of an infringing mark.
When adopting new branding, it is not unusual for a first-choice mark (and second-choice…) to be already taken by another business. Many marks are already taken by others, which limits the universe of marks freely available for your business’ use at the time of adoption. It may be preferable to select a different mark from the start than to later re-brand, because re-branding tends to become more burdensome, costly, and disheartening as time passes.
Consider a pre-launch trademark clearance that initially involves a search for any potentially conflicting trademarks, followed by a legal analysis. Such a search should encompass all the relevant jurisdictions (e.g., all countries where your brand or mark will be used). Registration is not required to have enforceable trademark rights in the U.S. So a clearance search should ideally assess possible unregistered marks too.
Copyrights
For copyrights, there must be unauthorized copying of protected expression. Though there can be risks from copying that happens through inattention or negligent conduct. Fair use limits the copyright owner’s exclusive rights, but fair use will not always apply (and usually won’t when simply making commercial use of a work rather than making critical commentary about the work). There are many misconceptions about copyright law. For instance, just because something is available on the Internet does not make it “fair game” for your business’ use—even if denoted as being “free” or “royalty free”.
Have an awareness of copyright infringement risks. Also be aware of the ways that employees might commit infringement. For instance, employees posting materials to online platforms under via company accounts can present copyright infringement risks. Consider ways to educate employees about copyright and supervise employee activities.
Perform copyright clearance for any materials that you did not wholly create yourself that you plan to use, and obtain written permission or a license or assignment of ownership. Retain records of written authorizations. And make sure that you adhere to the terms of any license. Also consider seeking an indemnity for any licensed materials, because you could be licensing materials that are themselves infringing.
Trade Secrets
For trade secrets, there must be misappropriation of secret materials. Though there can be risks from misappropriation that happens though inattention or negligent conduct. However, trade secret misappropriation will generally only arise if your business had received secret information from someone else. This could occur by hiring an employee who knows confidential information from a prior employer.
For trade secrets, review any non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in place and consider clean room or other protocols if any confidential materials were or will be received by staff.
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
Some intellectual property (IP) rights arise automatically under certain circumstances while others require affirmative action.
PRACTICAL TIP: Think about IP early to avoid waiving potential rights and consider the benefits of optional protections.
Copyrights
Copyright attaches automatically to the author when a new creative work (e.g., text, photo, etc.) is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Registration is not required for copyright to exist. Copyright ownership is also independent of possession and ownership of a copy of a work—even the “original” or sole copy.
Trademarks
Trademark rights can arise through use of a mark to identify the source of goods or services, provided that the mark is distinctive. Registration is not required to have enforceable trademark rights in the U.S. However, registration of a mark, particularly a federal registration on the Principal Register, helps to secure rights through the entire country and over time can limit the possibility for others to challenge the trademark rights in the registration.
Trade Secrets
Trade secret rights can attach to information that derives economic value from not being generally known and not being readily ascertainable so long as you take reasonable measures to keep it secret, meaning the existence of trade secret rights depends on the affirmative steps you take to maintain secrecy.
Patents
Patent rights require applying for and then obtaining a patent following an examination to determine if the invention satisfies criteria for patentability, which include novelty and nonobviousness. In the U.S., a patent must be applied for within one year of any disclosure, public use, or commercialization of the invention by the inventor. In most other countries, a patent must be applied for before any public disclosure.
International Considerations
Patent and trademark rights are territorial and rights in the U.S. will generally not provide exclusive rights abroad. Copyright and trade secret rights may have international enforceability in both the U.S. and some foreign jurisdictions.
Assignments and Licenses
IP rights can also be obtained from others via assignment (i.e., a transfer of ownership) or licensing (i.e., authorization to use the IP without a transfer of ownership). For many types of IP, assignments must be in writing and/or satisfy other criteria to be valid. Trademark rights are tied to underlying customer goodwill and cannot be assigned apart from that goodwill. A “naked” assignment of a trademark without associated goodwill can result in abandonment, as can licensing without quality control.
Employee- and Vendor-Created IP and Joint Development
When employees create things that may be subject to IP rights, the general rule—with some exceptions (notably for copyrightable works made for hire created by an employee within the scope of his or her job duties)—is that the employee rather than the employer is the owner. Businesses wanting to obtain ownership of employee-created IP should consider a written agreement (e.g., employment agreement) that establishes either an obligation to assign IP (to be followed later by execution of an assignment) or a prospective assignment of expected future IP.
When hiring a vendor to create or develop something, or jointly developing something with a business partner, consider who will own the IP at the outset. Merely paying for development will not automatically result in the transfer of ownership of vendor-created IP. Joint development can raise complex questions about who will own what, and ownership of particular IP may depend on which person(s) or entity contributed to that particular subject matter in the absence of a written agreement.
A common mistake is to ignore ownership of IP rights until there is infringement or a big business deal. Attempting to “fix” or alter IP ownership after the fact is usually much more complicated than sorting that out from the start of a vendor/partner/employee relationship (or even at the start of a particular project).
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
Trademark law can protect a brand name (in words), graphical logo, or the like—a “mark”—used to identify the source of goods or services. But not all marks are protectable. It is not unusual for a first-choice mark (and second-choice…) to already be taken or simply not be protectable. The following is an explanation of the basics of how a business’ name and logo can be protected under trademark law.
The first step is to select a mark that is distinctive enough to be protectable. Generic terms (or functional aspects) are never entitled to protection under trademark law. Merely descriptive terms are not protectable but descriptive marks can potentially develop “secondary meaning” and acquire distinctiveness in consumers’ minds over time, through extensive use and promotion, so as to become protectable. Suggestive, arbitrary, or fanciful marks are inherently distinctive and thus always protectable. Arbitrary and fanciful marks have the greatest legal strength, in conceptual terms.
A common problem is that businesses select marks that are not conceptually strong enough to merit exclusive rights as trademarks. Businesses people are frequently drawn to descriptive or generic terms because they require less initial investment to obtain consumer recognition. But the tradeoff is that generic and descriptive marks are considered conceptually “weak” and offer less or no legal exclusivity. In this respect, business and marketing considerations can be in tension with legal considerations under trademark law. If exclusive trademark rights are important to your business, make sure you select a mark that is good enough in legal terms to be protectable under trademark law.
Keep in mind that a mark must be one specific thing. Materially different spellings or visual depictions potentially reflect use of different marks. It is possible to have multiple different marks that are each in use, potentially even simultaneously with the same goods or services. But consistency in usage is important. This generally means settling on the exact mark or marks that will be used and sticking to those decisions.
Secondly, trademark rights generally go to the senior user. This means many marks are already taken by others, which limits the universe of marks freely available for your business’ use at the time of adoption. If your business’ mark creates a likelihood of confusion with an existing mark, the prior user will have superior rights. There can be a likelihood of confusion even if there are differences between the respective marks or goods/services, and evidence of actual confusion in the market is not required. Also, a protectable but weak mark, such as one that resembles numerous other coexisting marks, will have more limited scope of exclusivity than a stronger mark.
Geographically separate but otherwise similar uses of trademarks can sometimes coexist. Although businesses operating on the Internet tend to encompass wide geographic areas of use without much opportunity for separation. Moreover, a prior user might consent to coexistence in some circumstances—often subject to certain conditions to avoid confusion, such as agreements limiting the scope of the goods/services with which a mark is used. But, in general, the possibility of coexistence or consent is very context-specific and cannot simply be assumed to be possible.
Trademark rights in the U.S. arise from commercial use of a mark. “Common law” rights can accrue automatically through use of a mark but are generally limited to the geographic area in which the mark is actually used. Registering a mark has benefits, and a federal registration on the Principal Register can secure rights over the entire country and can be used to prevent unauthorized importation of goods bearing the mark. Federal registration generally requires use in interstate commerce, territorial commerce, or foreign/tribal commerce (with a limited exception if a foreign registration exists).
Trademarks are also territorial. Rights in one country generally provide no exclusivity in another. But most countries have no use requirement; many follow a first-to-file system and may provide little or no rights based on use alone. Also, many other countries are more restrictive than the U.S. in terms of the level of distinctiveness required for a mark to be registrable.
After adoption of a mark, use it properly and consistently, and monitor for potential infringing uses. Additional steps can also be taken to enhance protection of a trademark.
Trademark rights can potentially last indefinitely if still in use but can be abandoned through nonuse without intention to resume. Federal rights are presumptively abandoned after three years of nonuse. A branding “refresh” or other changes to a mark may result in the loss of existing trademarks rights and/or registrations and be treated as the adoption of a new mark or marks. Moreover, reduction in the goods and services with which a mark is used can lead to partial abandonment (just as expansion of use can potentially lead to new infringement risks).
Useful Tips:
Use care when selecting a mark to avoid having to later re-brand, which becomes more burdensome over time. Identify and evaluate potentially conflicting existing marks as part of initial mark selection. In doing so, consider all jurisdictions and scenarios under which your business plans to operate, including likely future expansion as to goods/services and geographic areas. A trademark legal clearance can help identify potentially conflicting marks and associated infringement risks.
Registration of an Internet domain name, a corporate name (trade name), an assumed name (d/b/a), or even all of them, does not alone establish any exclusive rights in a brand or mark under trademark law.
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
The process to register a trademark (or service mark) involves submitting an application, which is then substantively examined and a registration is ultimately either issued or refused. Post-registration action is required to maintain a registration, which can potentially last indefinitely provided that the registered mark is still in use. Both federal and state trademark registrations are available in the USA, and registration is also available in foreign countries. In many jurisdictions, including for U.S. federal applications, marks are published for potential opposition by others prior to registration. Trademark registrations are also subject to cancellation (or expungement, etc.) under certain circumstances.
Federal registrations are handled by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), which oversees two registers: the Principal Register and the Supplemental Register. Only registration on the Principal Register establishes a presumption of exclusive rights in a mark.
Not all Registrations are Equal in the U.S.: Federal trademark registration on the Principal Register is almost always preferable to state registration because much more expansive national rights are obtained, which is significant in the age of the Internet. Also keep in mind that a federal registration on the Supplemental Register does not by itself establish exclusive rights, although it can block a later conflicting registration. The value of state-level registrations varies. Some state trademark registrations provide no presumption of exclusive rights.
Basic Requirements of a Federal U.S. Trademark Application
A U.S. federal trademark application must identify the mark, the associated goods and/or services, and a filing basis.
Identification of Mark
The identification of the mark establishes what, exactly, constitutes the mark, which can include words (e.g., in “standard characters”) and/or graphical elements (e.g., color, stylized typeface/font, design element(s)), depending on the nature of the mark. Importantly, a mark must be one specific thing. Different spellings or different visual depictions potentially represent different marks. A trademark application must be limited to one mark, with any other potential marks pursued in separate applications.
Identification of Goods and Services
The goods and services must be identified and grouped according to a classification system, with filing fees calculated based on the number of classes of goods/services included. There is some skill involved in wording these identifications of goods and services appropriately. One important consideration is that for U.S. federal registrations it is not possible to simply “reserve” a mark, that is, merely to block others from using it. Use of the mark with all the identified goods and services must have already occurred or at least be intended in the future. Therefore, crafting a proper identification of goods and services requires first understanding how the applicant is currently using and/or legitimately intends to use the mark.
Filing Basis
As to filing bases, first, an application can be based on actual use in commerce, that is, the mark is already in use. Evidence of use in the form of a “specimen” must be submitted with such an application and the date of first use in commerce must be specified.
Alternatively, a federal application can be filed based on a bona fide intent-to-use (ITU). In this case, the mark has not yet been used in commerce but the applicant has a good faith intention to do so. The ITU application filing date establishes constructive use in commerce. But a statement of use (with a specimen) is still eventually required in an ITU application in order to obtain a registration—with paid extensions of time the applicant has up to about three years to do so.
Federal U.S. registrations based upon prior foreign registrations and applications as well as Madrid Protocol extensions based on a foreign application or registration are also possible.
Lastly, it is possible for a given application to include multiple filing bases. This is most common when a mark has already been used with some but not all goods or services, but use with the further goods/services in the future is intended. It is also common when priority to a foreign trademark registration or application is involved.
The Examination Process
Trademark office examination involves a search for conflicting registrations and an analysis of whether the applied-for mark meets applicable legal criteria. This is called trademark “prosecution”. Applicants can respond to any refusal sent in an “office action” by making amendments and arguments. Appeals from refusals are also possible. Additionally, even if a trademark examiner believes a mark is registrable, third parties can oppose registration and can later challenge an issued registration.
Federal registrations can take anywhere from a matter of months to years to obtain, provided that the mark is registrable at all. The timeline tends to be longer when there is a refusal (for instance, based on a prior conflicting registration or application) or an opposition to registration is lodged. State registrations may take only a matter of days to weeks, provided the mark is registrable. Foreign registration timelines vary widely.
Helpful Tips:
Although U.S. applicants can apply for registration themselves, subject to identity verification, legal advice from a knowledgeable attorney can help in obtaining the best and most appropriate coverage. Foreign trademark applicants are generally required to hire a licensed U.S. attorney.
Registrations of word marks in “standard characters” are usually the broadest because they do not include any limiting claim as to color, font, or other graphical elements in a mark that includes one or more words. On the other hand, words that are unregistrable in standard characters alone can sometimes become registrable when distinctive graphical elements are added as part of a “composite” mark that includes both word(s) and graphical element(s).
Consider the effect of expanded, reduced, or otherwise changed use of a mark over time. Such changes may may suggest pursuing one or more additional registrations. Some changes may also affect the ability to maintain an existing registration (e.g., due to a substantial changes to a graphical logo or ceasing use with certain goods/services).
State-level registration might be worthwhile if usage does not qualify for federal registration, such as purely local usage that is not part of interstate commerce.
Trademark registrations are territorial. A registration in one country will generally not provide exclusive rights in any other country. Consider foreign registration(s) if a mark is or will be used in multiple countries.
Registrations are generally even more important in other countries, where trademark rights are often determined on a first-to-register basis—sometimes without regard to priority of actual use.
For example, unrelated companies concurrently using similar brands in two different countries but later expanding to a common third country can sometimes lead to disputes.
As another example, outsourced manufacturing can also sometimes lead to trademark disputes. Export-only manufacturing in a foreign country of goods having trademarks applied to them maystill be considered trademark use under foreign law (e.g., “OEM” manufacturing in China), even without any local commercial sales in that foreign country.
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
Intellectual property (IP) rights might allow a business to obtain exclusive rights in some or all aspects of a product. Such IP rights can potentially include patents, trademarks (i.e., trade dress), copyrights, and trade secrets. But the types of IP that might apply will vary depending on the context of the product involved, and may require affirmative action to secure and maintain IP rights.
Consider patentability before any public disclosure or commercialization of a product in order to avoid potential loss of patent rights. Although other types of IP protection might be available, exclusivity in the design of a new useful product is first and foremost a question of potential patent protection.
Patent Protection
Patents can provide exclusive rights for a limited time in exchange for disclosure of an invention. An inventive product—and/or a process or method associated with making or using it—can be protected with a utility patent. However, a patent application must be filed within one year of public disclosure or commercialization (or, in other countries, before any public disclosure). The invention must also satisfy three criteria for patentability: utility, novelty, and non-obviousness. The latter two criteria depend on the scope and content of the prior art. A patentable invention cannot already be known and must represent a non-trivial advance over what was already known. These assessments are made in an absolute sense. Prior art is not limited to commercially available products. And it does not matter whether or not the inventor actually knew about the relevant prior art.
The ornamental appearance of a useful article can be protected with a design patent if the ornamental design is novel and non-obvious. Design patents can cover surface ornamentations for an article of manufacture, the ornamental shape or configuration of an article of manufacture itself, and combinations of those categories. Abstract designs (e.g., a picture standing alone) are not patentable.
Trade Dress / Trademark Protection
Trade dress (a form of trademark protection) may also protect the distinctive, nonfunctional appearance of a product or its packaging. However, trade dress protection only arises in aspects of product configuration that serve as a trademark to allow consumers to identify the source of the product. Trade dress never protects functional aspects of product configuration or packaging. In other words, it is limited to aspects that relate to the manufacturer or seller’s reputation and not to the usefulness of the thing itself.
In the U.S., trade dress protection requires achieving acquired distinctiveness once secondary meaning has developed in the minds of consumers based upon substantially continuous exclusive use for a sufficient period of time (generally a minimum of five years). Trade dress will not provide exclusive rights in product configuration at the time of a new product’s launch, though it might for packaging.
Copyright Protection
Copyright might apply to certain aspects of products, such as product labels or decorative graphics applied onto a product. But copyright will not protect useful or functional parts, only those creative aspects that are conceptually separable and capable of existing apart from the useful or functional parts. For example, a lamp that incorporates a sculpture could have copyright protection in the sculptural elements but purely functional electrical components that allow the lamp to illuminate would not have copyright protection. The text of software code can be copyrightable but not the functionality enabled by software (which might be patentable instead).
Trade Secret Protection
Trade secret protection will not apply to publicly visible or readily ascertainable aspects of a product. But things like the “secret formula”, manufacturing methods, or aspects of embedded software might be protectable as trade secrets if they are not generally known and not readily ascertainable and you take reasonable measures to keep such things secret.
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
Intellectual property (IP) litigation tends to be relatively expensive compared to other types of lawsuits. There are many reasons for that. Though the complexity of the legal issues involved and a tendency for extensive pre-trial discovery and use of expert witnesses contribute to the total costs.
Below are graphs showing average costs through various stages of a an infringement or misappropriation lawsuit in the U.S. A summary graph compares average costs for “small” patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret cases with less than $1,000,000 at risk. There are also individual graphs for patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret cases with different amounts at risk, that is, with different amounts of potential damages for infringement or misappropriation (in U.S. dollars). All data comes from the 2021 AIPLA Report of the Economic Survey.
Comparison of Average “Small” IP Lawsuit Costs by Type of Case and Stage
Average Patent Litigation CostsAverage Copyright Litigation Costs
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
Maintaining a U.S. trademark registration requires certain post-registration action. The following is a brief summary of the most important actions a registration should take or consider taking to maintain a trademark (or service mark) registration.
Continue Using the Mark
Continue using the mark in commerce in a consistent and non-generic manner. Such usage should be prominent enough to be recognized as a distinctive mark by consumers. Also ensure use is proper trademark usage, as an adjective that modifies a noun rather than as a noun or verb. Abandoned marks are subject to cancellation. For marks registered based solely on foreign priority, use in or with the USA must begin within three years of registration or be subject to cancellation or expungement.
Use Registration Symbol
It is recommended to use the registration symbol ® with a mark in jurisdictions where registered, or alternatively the ™ symbol. At least the first or most prominent appearance of the mark on a given article, advertisement, etc. should carry such a symbol. Use of “Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office” or “Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.” is also permitted for U.S. federally registered marks as well. For U.S. federal rights, there is no legal requirement to use ® or ™ symbols or the like (that is, marking is not required) in order to preserve rights in a mark. However, U.S. federal law does say that failing to use the ® symbol or an equivalent phrase can limit monetary recovery for infringement of a registered mark.
Note that some jurisdictions prohibit the use of the ® symbol with an unregistered mark. So be careful about usage across multiple jurisdictions—the ™ symbol can be used instead with a mark that is unregistered in a given jurisdiction. Moreover, registration in one or more U.S. states does not permit use of the ® symbol.
Maintain Control
If a mark is licensed for use by another, the mark owner must maintain control over the quality of the associated goods and services. Any such license should be in writing and should include an explicit quality control provision.
Retain Evidence of Use
It is recommended to periodically collect and retain in your records evidence of use of the registered mark in commerce in the U.S., particularly if not routinely documented in the ordinary course of business. Such evidence can be useful as a specimen of use or to defend against a challenge to the registration by another entity. If registration was filed on an intent-to-use (ITU) basis, or a foreign priority basis with an intent to use in the USA, it is further recommended to retain written records of that intent at the time of U.S. filing, such as detailed business plans.
Evaluate Expanded or Changed Use Over Time
If your use of the mark has expanded to encompass new or different goods/services that are not identified in the registration, it may be worthwhile to pursue an additional registration to ensure full protection. If use has ceased with some but not all of the goods/services identified in the registration, an amendment can be filed to delete only the unused goods/services. If your branding has changed, such as a “refresh” that materially alters the commercial impression of a graphical logo or the wording of a mark, it is important to evaluate whether the that new usage supports the existing registration and whether a new application should be filed.
Make Required Filings and Renew the Registration
If the owner’s name or address has changed, official records must be updated.
Maintaining a U.S. federal registration also requires submission of a Declaration of Use, with supporting evidence, between the 5th & 6th years of registration. Additionally, renewal is required between the 9th and 10th years of registration and at ten-year intervals after that, each such requiring a Declaration of Use and supporting evidence. Madrid Protocol extensions to the USA further require that the underlying international registration be maintained.
Beware of misleading, official-looking notices sent by private entities seeking payment of trademark-related fees as scams. Have a trusted trademark attorney review such notices if in doubt about whether they are a scam.
More Information
More information about maintaining trademark rights is available here.
More information about strengthening protection of a registered trademark is available here.
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
Simply establishing trademark (or service mark) rights through use and registering that mark is not the end of the story. Of course, registering a mark is the most important step that can be taken to protect a mark. But certain additional steps can be taken to further enhance or strengthen protection of a brand. The following are possible additional steps to consider in order to increase protection and exclusivity around a given mark in the United States.
Register Domain Name(s)
If not already done, consider registering domain names based upon or incorporating a mark to reduce the chances of cybersquatting. Consider also registering domains with variations on your brand and mark, such as:
Typographical errors and misspellings
Phonetic equivalents and alternate spellings (such as British vs. American English)
Abbreviations and acronyms
Transliterations or translations into other languages
Added or modified punctuation (such as dashes)
Added or synonymously substituted generic, descriptive, or disparaging terms (such as geographic, corporate, or good/service terms)
Alternate top-level domains (TLDs) that may have meaning in connection with your mark, such as country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) or generic TLDs (gTLDs) with letters that make up part of your mark or that have generic, descriptive, or disparaging meaning when used in connection with your mark
Additionally, registered trademarks can optionally be recorded in the Trademark Clearinghouse. This provides benefits that can complement defensive registration of alternate domains. For instance, the trademark holder is notified of any new gTLD domain name registrations matching the recorded trademark.
Secure Social Media Handle(s) and Account/User Name(s)
If not already done, consider locking up social media handles and accounts based upon or incorporating the mark—and maybe also variations on that brand similar to those noted above for domain names.
Record Registration with Customs
Consider recording a trademark registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Such a recordation allows CBP to help block importation of counterfeit and infringing goods into the USA, as well as so-called restricted gray market articles (genuine goods imported without authorization of the U.S. trademark registration holder). However, CBP recordation requires having a valid registration on the Principal Register and further requires periodic renewal of the recordation. It is also possible to provide product identification (Product ID) guides, product test kits/tools, and other online or in-person training to CBP to aid in the identification of suspect goods by customs field agents at ports of entry. CBP recordation to block importation is a significant exception to the general rule that trademark owners have to police infringement themselves.
Record Registration with Online Marketplace Platforms
Certain online marketplaces allow trademark registrations to be recorded in their own private brand registries, such as Amazon.com’s Amazon Brand Registry and Wal-Mart’s Walmart Brand Portal. The policies and procedures for such registries vary by platform. They typically require having a granted registration on the Principal Register. Generally speaking, recording in such private registries can assist in blocking the appearance of counterfeit and infringing goods (sometimes automatically) and can also help reduce the risk that your own brand and associated goods will be blocked by the platform.
Proactively Monitor the Commercial Market
Proactively monitor both online and offline markets for potentially problematic activities by others that implicate your mark. Aside from CBP recordation (see above), the U.S. government will not monitor private trademark rights, which is left to the mark holder. Monitoring can involve visiting stores, reviewing advertising media and publications, following competitor activities, and periodic online and/or trademark database searches.
For example, monitoring allows for:
Enforcement actions, including infringement lawsuits and demand or cease & desist letters
Oppositions, cancellations, and other challenges to TM registrations and applications by others
Domain name cybersquatting actions in court or through mandatory arbitration (UDRP, URS)
Takedown requests to online platforms (availability and procedures vary by platform)
Austen Zuege is an attorney at law and registered U.S. patent attorney in Minneapolis whose practice encompasses patents, trademarks, copyrights, domain name cybersquatting, IP agreements and licensing, freedom-to-operate studies, client counseling, and IP litigation. If you have patent, trademark, or other IP issues, he can help.
