What Is a Trademark?

A trademark is a way to protect intangible assets that are unique to your business. When something is trademarked, it means no other company or individual may use the trademarked asset without your consent. A trademark offers intellectual property protection for assets like your logo, brand, slogan, business name, symbols, and similar branding elements, and can also protect the combination of these elements that forms your unique brand identity.

Once your trademark is registered and the proper registration fees paid, no other organization is allowed to use your intellectual asset. Unlike a patent that expires after 20 years, there is no expiration date for a trademark. Once you are granted a trademark, you may receive a notice of claim for any business considering using your trademarked property as their own. You are also given a legal presumption of ownership as well as the exclusive right to use and profit from the trademark.

Why Is It Important to Safeguard Your Intellectual Property?

Trademarking your branding elements is important because you want to be able to retain exclusive rights to use your idea and to have your consumers identify those branding elements as the face of your business.

Your logo, designs, business name, slogan, and more are like an identification card for your business. They are part of the process of helping your business stand out and building trust among your clients, so they will ultimately choose to do business with you.

A trademark ensures no other company or individual takes advantage of the brand identity and reputation you worked so hard to build. It helps you position your business and build a name in your industry.

There is no doubt that when a design idea is unique and revolutionary, sooner or later someone else will try to copy it. If your branding and design ideas are trademarked, you will have a path to deal with copycats and protect your intellectual assets.

What Are the Steps to Obtaining a Trademark in North Carolina?

At Davis Legal, PLLC, we can assist you with all the steps required to trademark your brand. We can help you with:

• Trademark search
• Preparing and filing trademark applications
• Trademark registration renewals and maintenance
• National coverage and protection

This means we’ll conduct a thorough search to find out if the branding elements you want to trademark are already being used by another company or not. We alert you of any potential issues that may arise as part of the trademark process. We complete and file the necessary paperwork on your behalf. We provide assistance and communicate with the trademarks office throughout the process as needed, and help you protect and enforce your trademark once it has been granted.

Why Should I Work With a Trademarks Attorney?

While it may not be mandatory to work with a trademark attorney in order to obtain a trademark for your business, it may be in your best interest to do so. The process of investigating whether the brand you plan on trademarking is already in use can take time and require a lot of work.

You may already have a lot on your plate, and by delegating the process of trademarking your brand to a professional, you can have the peace of mind of knowing it will be handled properly, so you can turn your focus back to your business.

At Davis Legal, we are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs protect their ideas and ensure their brand identity is not being used without their authorization.