Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name, 8th edition

Table of Contents......Page 10
20 Frequently Asked Trademark Questions......Page 14
Introduction: Your Legal Companion for Trademarks......Page 22
1. A Trademark Primer......Page 24
Trademarks and Trademark Law......Page 26
Basic Principles of Trademark Law......Page 30
The Role of Federal Registration in Protecting Trademarks......Page 36
Not All Business Names Are Trademarks......Page 39
Trade Name Formalities......Page 40
Trade Dress and Product Designs......Page 44
Sources of Trademark Law......Page 48
The Difference Between Trademark and Copyright......Page 49
The Difference Between Trademark and Patent......Page 50
2. Trademarks, Domain Names, and the Internet......Page 52
How to Clear and Register Domain Names......Page 53
What to Do If the Domain Name You Want Is Already Registered......Page 57
Domain Names and Trademarks......Page 59
Other Trademark Issues in Cyberspace......Page 60
3. How to Choose a Good Name for Your Business, Product, or Service......Page 64
Anatomy of a Product or Service Name Trademark......Page 66
Distinctive Names Make Legally Strong Trademarks......Page 67
How Trademark Law Treats Marks With Common Terms......Page 68
What Makes a Distinctive Trademark a Legally Strong Trademark?......Page 70
Guidelines for Making a Mark Distinctive......Page 72
Marketing Considerations When Choosing a Name Mark......Page 80
4. Trademark Searches—What They Are and Why You Should Do One......Page 84
What Resources Are Used in a Trademark Search?......Page 85
Where Are Trademark Search Resources Located?......Page 86
Different Levels of Trademark Searches—What They Are; When They’re Appropriate......Page 87
Planning Your Trademark Search......Page 90
Using a Professional Search Service......Page 94
Using a Patent and Trademark Depository Library to Do Your Own Search......Page 97
Does Your Failure to Search Mean You Acted in Bad Faith?......Page 98
5. How to Do Your Own Trademark Search......Page 100
Meet TESS—The Trademark Electronic Search System......Page 102
Getting Started With TESS......Page 104
Understanding the TESS Structured Form Search......Page 106
Tips on Using the TESS Structured Form Search......Page 109
Trademark Searching With TESS: An Example......Page 112
Understanding the TESS Free Form Search......Page 114
Understanding the Results of Your Search......Page 117
An Introduction to SAEGIS—A Great Fee-Based Search System......Page 119
Searching State Registered Trademarks and Trade Names......Page 121
Searching for Trade Names and Unregistered Marks......Page 122
6. How to Evaluate the Results of Your Trademark Search......Page 126
What’s Involved in Evaluating Trademark Search Results?......Page 128
What Is the Likelihood of Customer Confusion?......Page 129
An Overview of How Marks Are Evaluated for Their Potential to Cause Customer Confusion......Page 132
How Closely Related Are the Goods/Services?......Page 133
How Similar Are the Marks?......Page 141
Additional Factors......Page 142
Final Factors......Page 144
How to Read a Trademark Search Report......Page 145
7. Federal Trademark Registration......Page 152
Brief Overview of Federal Registration......Page 154
What Marks Qualify for Federal Registration......Page 155
If You Haven’t Started Using Your Mark, Should You File an Intent-to-Use Application?......Page 159
What Examples of Your Mark Will You Submit With Your Application?......Page 160
What International Class Is the Best Fit for Your Product or Service?......Page 165
Deciding How Many Marks You Want to Register......Page 166
Applying for Registration Online......Page 167
If You Are Filing by Mail......Page 187
What Happens Next?......Page 188
Communicating With the PTO......Page 189
If the Examiner Issues a Rejection Letter......Page 190
Follow-Up Activity Required for Intent-to-Use Applications......Page 196
Follow-Up Activity Required After Registration......Page 198
8. How to Use and Care for Your Trademark......Page 200
Use of the Trademark Registration ® Symbol......Page 201
File Your Section 8 and 15 Declarations......Page 202
Use It or Risk Losing It......Page 206
Maintain Tight Control of Your Mark......Page 207
Use the Mark Properly—Avoid Genericide......Page 209
Transferring Ownership of a Trademark......Page 210
9. Evaluating Trademark Strength......Page 214
A Brief Review of What Makes a Strong Mark......Page 215
Assess the Legal Strength of the Trademark Aspect of Your Word Mark......Page 216
10. Sorting Out Trademark Disputes......Page 234
Trademark Infringement......Page 236
Determining Priority in an Infringement Dispute......Page 245
Dilution......Page 254
Cybersquatting......Page 260
11. If Someone Infringes Your Mark......Page 266
How Much Is Your Mark Really Worth to You?......Page 267
Negotiate—Don’t Litigate......Page 270
How to Handle an Infringer......Page 272
12. If Someone Claims That You Infringed Their Trademark......Page 282
What the Complaining Party Can Do to You......Page 283
Steps You Should Take......Page 284
13. International Trademark Protection......Page 286
Where Will You Seek Protection?......Page 287
How Will You Register Abroad?......Page 290
14. Help Beyond This Book......Page 294
Doing Your Own Research in a Law Library......Page 295
Finding a Lawyer......Page 300
A. International Classification of Goods and Services......Page 304
B. Glossary of Terms......Page 320
C. Selected Pages from Thomson CompuMark Trademark Search Report......Page 328
Index......Page 350