Trademark and IP-related news for the legal professionals

Pre-launch businesses can use the USPTO’s intent-to-use (ITU) application option to file for trademark protection before they’ve begun commercially using their brand. This is one of the most strategically useful options for businesses that seek protection before they launch. However, ITU applications don’t offer the same protection as actual registrations, and they come with frequently underestimated obligations. In this article, we outline everything you need to know.

When coming up with brand names, most founders believe that clarity is an advantage. A name that tells consumers what the business does, how good its products are, or how well it operates feels like a nobrainer. Under US trademark law, that natural instinct produces brand names that get refused after examination. Read on to learn why.

Trademark registration costs vary dramatically around the world. So does the attention your application receives. Here is what the data shows about what you are actually paying for.

The path to international trademark protection can take many forms. But each route comes with its own tradeoffs in cost, speed, and certainty. Here is what the data shows about how different businesses make this decision.

Trademark registrations do not update themselves based on current commercial use. When a brand evolves, the trademark stays fixed to whatever was filed in the original application. If your business has rebranded, modernized the logo, shortened the name, or expanded into different products, the gap between what is registered and what is actively being used can undermine and deteriorate your brand’s protection. 

Trademark registration is not permanent. Your registration status depends on a set of ongoing legal obligations, and failure to meet them results in the cancellation of your mark regardless of active commercial use. For many trademark owners, this comes as a surprise, and by the time they discover the problem, the registration is already gone.

Many founders make their first trademark mistake before they ever file anything. They register their brand name, receive their certificate, and assume their logo is covered as well. It isn't, but the assumption leaves a large gap in their brand protection from day one.

Founders assume registering a trademark is the last step in brand protection. Without active monitoring, it is only the first step. In this article, we've outlined everything you need to know about brand monitoring. Why it's important, how to do it, where to do it, and everything inbetween.

Many entrepreneurs assume trademark conflicts only happen when two companies sell the same product. In reality, trademark law is much broader than that. It is surprisingly common for a business to invest in branding only to discover that an earlier trademark registration blocks the name. The reason often lies in how trademark classifications work.

The cost of trademark protection is climbing steadily, but higher fees do not always translate into stronger or faster protection. With fees rising across major offices, businesses must consider not only the upfront cost but the operational and strategic implications of where and how they register their trademarks.