Someone To Watch Over You(r Mark)

The Internet has provided us with an incredible ability to research anything we want, any time we want. For example, have you ever Googled your own name? Type your own name into the search bar and click. It’s astounding what you can find. There are sites that appear to know everything about you, including old addresses, prior names and marriages, former employers, and where you were born. You might even find other people out there that share your name. 

Although sharing your personal name with many others doesn’t necessarily affect you, for your business, it’s quite another story. This is, after all, why you bothered to register your business name and file the trademark for your brand with the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO). But what happens once that is done? How do you protect your business name and brand once it’s registered?

Monitoring for Unauthorized Use

Once you’ve claimed ownership of your brand, you need to enforce your rights in your mark. This includes calling out unauthorized use of your mark by third parties, and objecting to new applications to register marks that may cause confusion with your mark.

But how do you find out this information? And how often should you be looking?

Now, while you can use an Internet search engine to research your personal name, there are other, more professional resources to locate businesses that might be using your name and mark, or seeking to register them as trademarks. Search engines are one tool, social media also helps to locate unauthorized use. You can also find information on the PTO website that will reveal potentially conflicting marks. 

While these tools are all very accessible, searching is tedious, and it must be done consistently in order to effectively protect your brand and business. If this isn’t what you do every day, it can be what you do all day when you do it. For most businesses, this is not an effective use of anyone’s time, and can leave your business exposed if the person responsible isn’t vigilant or trained in the nuances of what to search for.

And Now My Watch Begins…

As a trademark attorney, I try to alleviate this concern for clients by offering what is known in our industry as a Watch Service. 

Through the use of a private database of information available from the PTO and other sources, I receive notifications of potentially conflicting applications for registration, new business name registrations and even some social media accounts. At the request of my client, I can then evaluate each of the potential conflicts and advise accordingly. A watch service identifies issues before they become bigger, more expensive problems. 

Experienced trademark attorneys understand the value of information. Contact us to sign up for a watch service for your marks.