Trademark Practice
Own your identity
In today's business environment, standing out is critical. Building a strong, distinct identity is key to distinguishing yourself from the competition. Trademarks provide one of the most significant tools for building and maintaining that identity.
At Hansen IP Law, we can help you with mark selection and the preparation and prosecution of trademark applications. We can also assist you with trademark clearance and enforcement.
Choosing a strong mark
Trademarks are characterized according to their "strength" as an indicator of source – an indicator that a product or service comes from a particular source. From strongest to weakest, marks are arbitrary, suggestive, descriptive, or generic. Arbitrary marks have little or no relationship to the goods or services, such as APPLE for computers. Descriptive marks describe some aspect of the goods or services and can become trademarks only after they have been used long enough, and in the right way, to function as an indicator of source. Generic terms can never be trademarks. Suggestive marks fall in between, and many consider them the best choice: strong indicators of source that still hint at the nature of the product.
Slogans, logos, and product features
Trademark protection reaches more than names. Slogans can be protected as trademarks when they are used in connection with goods or services, although a slogan printed on a t-shirt or glass is often treated as decoration rather than as a brand, and may require proof that it has acquired distinctiveness. Placing the slogan on labels or packaging can help. The look of a product or its packaging can also be protected as "trade dress," and unlike a design patent, trade dress can last as long as it remains in use.
What we do
- Mark selection and clearance
- Preparation and prosecution of U.S. trademark applications
- Responses to Trademark Office refusals
- Trade dress protection for product and packaging features
- Trademark enforcement
Related reading
- How to Protect Slogans
- Selecting Trademarks – How the Car Companies Do It
- Protecting the Aftermarket – Strategic Use of Design Patents