Hi Themortgagebankk ~
You can register your trademark or service mark with either the State
of California or with the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO). The State of California recommends you file your trademark
with them, even if you are tranted a trademark by the USPTO.
Besides the price ($75 in California, as opposed to starting at $335
for filing a US Trademark registration), registering your trademark in
California limits your protection to the state of California only.
Registering your trade or service mark with USPTO offers nationwide
protection.
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For the State of California
============================
General Provisions governing trademarks and service marks are found in
California Business and Professions Code, Sections 14200 et seq, which
can be found online here:
- http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=bpc&codebody=&hits=All
Some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about California's Trademark
Registration can be found here:
- http://www.ss.ca.gov/business/ts/ts_faq.htm
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Availability of Your Name
==========================
The first thing you will want to do is to check to see if the
trademark you want to register is available. Handled by the California
Secretary of State's office, there is no online database to check
yourself. However, the Secretary of State's office will perform the
search for you.
Their office hours are 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, and
contact information is:
Location: Secretary of State
Trademarks/Service Marks
1500 11th Street, 3rd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Mailing Address: Secretary of State
Trademarks/Service Marks
P.O. Box 944225
Sacramento, CA 94244-2250
Phone Number: (916) 653-4984
===========================
Forms for Registering
Your Trademark
===========================
The California Secretary of State provides the Forms & Fee information
for registering your trademark online. You can download the forms
here:
- http://www.ss.ca.gov/business/ts/ts_formsfees.htm
You'll need to have Adobe Acrobat in order to read and complete the
forms.
You may have noticed that California recommends that even if you
receive a trademark from the USPTO, that you register and 'set' your
trademark if you intend to do business within the State of California.
A California trademark registration is good for 10 years.
======================================
For Registering Your Trademark
With the US Patent & Trademark Office
======================================
A case of your taxpayer dollars at work, the USPTO has a more
sophisticated website with a searchable database of registered
trademarks as well as pending applications.
For general information about the USPTO, you may want to start with
their "Menu" page, which will help you find any information you may
require:
- http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
=========================
Trademark Search
=========================
The USPTO offers the means to search their database for the name you
wish to register on TESS (stands for Trademark Electronic Search
System). You can start your search here:
- http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=1uq4mt.1.1
I think you'll find it easiest to click on the link entitled "New User
Form Search (Basic) to begin your search. You simply fill in the name
you want to use and to get the widest return (covering the most
bases), you can leave the defaults where they are.
Notice the warning published by the USPTO:
"AFTER SEARCHING THE USPTO DATABASE, EVEN IF YOU THINK THE RESULTS ARE
"O.K.," DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOUR MARK CAN BE REGISTERED AT THE USPTO.
AFTER YOU FILE AN APPLICATION, THE USPTO MUST DO ITS OWN SEARCH AND
OTHER REVIEW, AND MIGHT REFUSE TO REGISTER YOUR MARK."
So it is best not to assume that just because you do NOT find it
listed on TESS that the name is necessarily available to you, but it
is a good spot to begin.
=======================
Forms and Fees
=======================
The fee for filing a trademark registration with the USPTO starts at
$335. I use the word "starts", because there are additional fees
involved if your forms aren't complete and they require additional
information, and/or it takes over six months to process, there are
additional fees required to keep your application alive.
The Fee Schedule is here:
- http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/qs/ope/fee20030101.htm#tm
You can file the forms online from here:
- http://www.uspto.gov/teas/index.html
NOTE: Before you file the online forms, you will want to ensure that
you understand exactly what they need. It will save you so much time
if you get all the information together and submit it according to
their guidelines.
Run through the Tutorial the USPTO provides, as it is helpful and will
make things much easier for you. You can find it here:
- http://www.uspto.gov/teas/PrinTEAStechinfo.htm
Or you can download and mail in the forms from this site:
- http://www.uspto.gov/web/forms/index.html#TM
Whether or not you file online, you'll want to keep track of the
progress of your Trademark Registration, and the USPTO offers you the
ability to check your status online starting here:
- http://tarr.uspto.gov/
One word of advice, if you start to run into problems, there is no
substitute in hiring a good trademark attorney to help you through the
process. Otherwise, you are liable to spend more time and money of
your own, only to be disappointed. An attorney can often work within
the system to get you the trademark you seek.
==================
Disclaimer
==================
Please note Google's disclaimer at the bottom of this page. I am not
an attorney and am not licensed to practice law. The information here
is freely available online, but should in no way be construed as legal
advice. If you run into difficulties, there is no substitute for
competent professional advice, especially when it comes to something
as important as your tradmark registration.
Search Terms Used
=================
* California Secretary of State
* California trademark registration
In addition, I knew of the procedures for registering and checking
trademarks with the USPTO.
Good luck with your proposed enterprise. I hope everything works out
for you.
Regards,
Serenata |
