Protect Your Property - Intellectual Property Update - Patent, Copyright or Trademark your work.

Business & Corporate, Intellectual Property

Rayan Coutinho, a trademark and copyright attorney at Wood & Lamping, explains that three levels of trademark protection are available. Simply affixing a “TM” superscript by a logo or design without registering the trademark protects a common-law trademark. The second option, registering a trademark with a state’s secretary of state, is inexpensive but only offers protection in that state. The final and most comprehensive option is registering the trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which offers national protection and, after five years, is incontestable to anyone who claims he or she came up with the trademarked item first. “If you claim something as a trademark — a mark, logo or phrase — always put “TM” on it to indicate it’s a common-law trademark. If it’s registered, use “R” with a circle around it,” Coutinho says.

This is a snip from an article that was recently published in Cincy - The Magazine For Business Professionals authored by Bob Driehaus, November 2008. For the complete article, please click here.

About: Rayan F. Coutinho is an attorney with the Business Group at Wood & Lamping LLP and can be reached at rfcoutinho@woodlamping.com or (513) 852-6030.

admin @ November 14, 2008