By: Jesse
You’ve likely heard the words trademark, patent, and copyright. Have you ever wondered what the difference is and if you will need any of these when you’re starting a business? We are going to break it down for you so you know exactly what they are and where to get started!
Trademarks
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), “a trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods”. However, the word trademark is often used interchangeably. Basically, a trademark (or service mark) shows others that you and/or your business are the owner of the word, phrase symbol, or design. When others see it, they will be able to exclusively associate it with the service or goods you sell. (For simplicity in this article, we will use a business name as the sample item desired to be trademarked.)
What does this mean for my business? If you want your business name to be exclusively associated with your business throughout the US, you need to federally trademark it to protect your legal rights to ownership of the name and prevent others from using the same name. Under certain circumstances, another company could have the same name and both business will be able to federally trademark it. This will be determined by the USPTO and happens if it can be shown that the two businesses offer completely different types of products. (Example: One company sells hair care products and the other sells accounting software.) When starting a business and creating your business brand, you may want to check the USPTO trademark database to see if your desired names, phrases, etc. have already been trademarked by someone else. Should you decide to pursue federal trademark registration, the forms will also be found on this site. Although it’s not necessary, you may find hiring a lawyer to be worthwhile!
Read more >> https://blog.zubifi.com/news/2019/09/trademark-patent-and-copyright-whats-the-difference-and-does-my-business-need-them/
