Trademark law protects a company’s investment in their brand identity. Trademarks are symbols, words and other devices that signify the source of a product or a service (not the product or service itself). Trademark law prevents a competitor from trading on the goodwill your business has developed by marketing your products and services to consumers using the brand identifier. Trademark registration can be accomplished at the state or federal level with the main benefits being statewide or nationwide notice of your claim to use the mark to identify the source of your goods or services. Other benefits include the presumption of ownership and validity and marks that are used for a period of years can be deemed “incontestable” making a competitor’s challenge even more difficult.
Trademark owners are often threatened with potential infringement suits by other mark holders as well as those entities that have applied for a mark and/or those that simply misunderstand Trademark law. The attorneys at The Humphries Law FirmTM can provide advice regarding the strength of the threat and strategies to deal with it without the disruption and expense of litigation using a combination of creative prosecution strategy and negotiation; however, our firm has experience and reputation to resolve trademark disputes in the courtroom when needed.
Our firm can assist new and established companies research the feasibility of using and registering a potential mark or can assist in the registration of a mark that is already in use. The Humphries Law Firm has the expertise necessary to register your trademark through domestic applications filed under the Lanham Act internationally through international applications under the Madrid Protocol. Our firm can also assist owners of an international registration originating in another country to extend protection to the United States through requests for extension of protection in the United States under the Madrid Protocol.