A strong trademark can give protection to a clever new slogan
Q: I’ve come up with a catchy and distinctive slogan for my new small business, and I’d like to make sure no one else uses it. Would a trademark legally protect it?
A: Good timing on your question. The UH Bauer College Small Business Development Center is offering a special workshop on “Protecting Your Business With Trademarks” from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on July 17. It will provide the answer and walk you through the process. You’ll learn how a strong trademark can not only protect your brand but also help customers find your business.
The workshop will be led by Anne Cullotta of the Culotta Law Firm. Register for the $29 class, which will be held at the SBDC’s Midtown office on Fannin Street, at sbdc.uh.edu.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website, uspto.gov, also is a helpful resource. Find a detailed explanation of the trademark process; an explanation of the difference between patent, trademark and copyright protection; and the difference between registering a domain name, business name and trademark. The information will help you determine if trademark protection is what you’re looking for and what the process entails.
You should be aware that there’s a difference between what’s known as a “common law” trademark and a federally registered trademark.
If you simply begin using the trademark symbol “TM” and you use it continuously, your trademark is protected by common law within your geographic area. If someone else in your local area then starts using it, they are infringing on your rights. If that happens, you can send a “cease and desist” letter, and if they don’t stop using it, you can sue.
The key here, though, is use within your geographic area. If it doesn’t matter now or in the future if businesses outside of your local area use your trademark, you may find common law protection enough.
If, on the other hand, you operate online or plan to expand physically to other locations, you may want to register with the federal trademark office to protect against infringement anywhere in the country. Obtaining a federal trademark means you’ll be listed in the USPTO database and will use the registered trademark symbol.
If you determine you want to apply for federal trademark protection, the first thing to do is a trademark search to make sure your trademark is not already in use. You can search electronically, for free, 24-7, through the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System, or TESS. Go to uspto.gov/trademarks and look for “TESS Search System.”
You can also go to a Patent and Trademark Resource Center and do your search there; there’s one at Rice University in Houston. An attorney specializing in trademark law can help you search state and other databases as well as advise on other parts of the process.
Jacqueline Taylor is deputy director of the Texas Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center Network, a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business. Information is intended to provide general guidance only. jtaylor@uh.edu