Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name (6th edition)

Table of Contents......Page 9
20 Frequently Asked Trademark Questions......Page 15
Introduction......Page 23
A. What Parts of the Book Do You Absolutely Need to Read?......Page 24
C. When a Trademark Lawyer May Be Helpful......Page 25
1. A Trademark Primer......Page 29
A. Trademarks & Trademark Law......Page 31
B. Basic Principles of Trademark Law......Page 34
C. The Role of Federal Registration in Protecting Trademarks......Page 40
D. Not All Business Names Are Trademarks......Page 43
E. Trade Name Formalities......Page 44
F. Trade Dress and Product Designs......Page 48
G. Sources of Trademark Law......Page 51
H. The Difference Between Trademark and Copyright......Page 52
I. The Difference Between Trademark and Patent......Page 53
2. Trademarks, Domain Names and the Internet......Page 55
A. How to Clear and Register Domain Names......Page 56
B. What to Do If the Domain Name You Want Is Already Registered......Page 59
C. Domain Names and Trademarks......Page 61
D. Other Trademark Issues in Cyberspace......Page 62
3. How to Choose a Good Name for Your Business, Product or Service......Page 65
A. Anatomy of a Product or Service Name Trademark......Page 67
B. Distinctive Names Make Legally Strong Trademarks......Page 68
C. How Trademark Law Treats Marks With Common Terms......Page 69
D. What Makes a Distinctive Trademark a Legally Strong Trademark?......Page 71
E. Guidelines for Making a Mark Distinctive......Page 72
F. Marketing Considerations When Choosing a Name Mark......Page 80
4. Trademark Searches—What They Are and Why You Should Do One......Page 85
C. What Resources Are Used in a Trademark Search?......Page 86
D. Where Are Trademark Search Resources Located?......Page 87
E. Different Levels of Trademark Searches—What They Are; When They’re Appropriate......Page 88
F. Planning Your Trademark Search......Page 91
G. Using a Professional Search Service......Page 95
H. Using a Patent and Trademark Depository Library to Do Your Own Search......Page 98
I. Does Your Failure to Search Mean You Acted in Bad Faith?......Page 99
5. How to Do Your Own Trademark Search......Page 101
A. Meet TESS—The Trademark Electronic Search System......Page 103
B. Getting Started With TESS......Page 104
C. Understanding the TESS Structured Form Search......Page 106
D. Tips on Using the TESS Structured Form Search......Page 109
E. Trademark Searching With TESS: A Real-Life Example......Page 112
F. Understanding the TESS Free Form Search......Page 115
G. Understanding the Results of Your Search......Page 116
H. An Introduction to SAEGIS—A Great Fee-Based Search System......Page 119
J. Searching State Registered Trademarks and Trade Names......Page 121
K. Searching for Trade Names and Unregistered Marks......Page 122
6. How to Evaluate the Results of Your Trademark Search......Page 125
A. What’s Involved in Evaluating Trademark Search Results?......Page 127
B. What Is the Likelihood of Customer Confusion?......Page 128
C. An Overview of How Marks Are Evaluated for Their Potential to Cause Customer Confusion......Page 131
D. How Closely Related Are the Goods/Services?......Page 132
F. How Similar Are the Marks?......Page 141
G. Additional Factors......Page 142
H. Final Factors......Page 144
I. How to Read a Trademark Search Report......Page 145
7. Federal Trademark Registration......Page 155
A. Brief Overview of Federal Registration......Page 157
B. What Marks Qualify for Federal Registration......Page 158
C. If You Haven’t Started Using Your Mark, Should You File an Intent-to-Use Application?......Page 162
D. What Examples of Your Mark Will You Submit With Your Application?......Page 163
E. What International Class Is the Best Fit for Your Products or Services?......Page 167
F. Deciding How Many Marks You Want to Register......Page 169
G. Applying for Registration Online......Page 170
H. If You Are Filing by Mail......Page 182
I. What Happens Next?......Page 183
J. Communicating With the PTO......Page 184
K. If the Examiner Issues a Rejection Letter......Page 185
L. Follow-Up Activity Required for Intent-to-Use Applications......Page 190
M. Follow-Up Activity Required After Registration......Page 192
8. How to Use and Care for Your Trademark......Page 197
A. Use of the Trademark Registration ® Symbol......Page 198
C. File Your Section 8 and 15 Declarations......Page 199
D. File Your Section 8 Declaration and Section 9 Application for Renewal......Page 202
F. Maintain Tight Control of Your Mark......Page 203
G. Use the Mark Properly—Avoid Genericide......Page 205
H. Transferring Ownership of a Trademark......Page 206
9. Evaluating Trademark Strength......Page 209
B. The First Step: For Marks Consisting of Words, Identify the Distinctive Part of the Mark......Page 210
C. Assess the Legal Strength of the Trademark Aspect of Your Word Mark......Page 211
10. Sorting Out Trademark Disputes......Page 227
A. Trademark Infringement......Page 229
B. Determining Priority in an Infringement Dispute......Page 237
C. Dilution......Page 246
D. Cybersquatting......Page 251
11. If Someone Infringes Your Mark......Page 257
B. How Much Is Your Mark Really Worth to You?......Page 258
C. Negotiate—Don’t Litigate......Page 261
D. How to Handle an Infringer......Page 263
12. If Someone Claims That You Infringed Their Trademark......Page 271
A. What the Complaining Party Can Do to You......Page 272
B. Steps You Should Take......Page 273
13. International Trademark Protection......Page 275
A. A General Approach to International Trademark Protection......Page 276
C. Deciding to Register Abroad......Page 279
14. Help Beyond the Book......Page 281
A. Doing Your Own Research in a Law Library......Page 282
C. Finding a Lawyer......Page 287
Appendix A. Class Descriptions......Page 291
International Schedule of Classes of Goods and Services......Page 292
Descriptions of Goods and Services (From USTA—International Classes)......Page 294
Appendix B. Glossary of Terms......Page 307
Appendix C. Trademark Search Report......Page 315
Index......Page 353
Related Products......Page 375