Trademarks

Help With Trademarks

Trademarks are essential to any business and Grace J. Fishel, Intellectual Property Lawyer, is here to assist you in St. Louis, MO. The public identifies your business, product or service though its distinctive branding, logo, design, slogan, word, or picture. That distinguishing trademark is immediately associated with your company's positive reputation for quality. Protecting your trademark is essential to preserving your business's image. Find out more here.

Registering your trademark

You can improve your ownership of a trademark by registering with the state(s) in which it is used, or better yet with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Registering a trademark should be considered essential for any business. Prior to filing, we recommend you have us make a search to determine whether your mark is already in use by others. At the time a U.S. application is filed, you must meet the use in commerce or intent to use basis for filing, meaning you are either currently using the mark or have a ready-market plan for its use. We can advise you regarding your trademark rights and are skilled at filing detailed applications with the USPTO which fully satisfy all of the complex requirements.

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What's the difference between a trademark and a service mark?

A trademark identifies the source of goods, e.g., McDonald's World Famous Fries, whereas a service mark distinguishes the source of a service. McDonald's is also registered as a service mark for restaurant services. The symbol for an unregistered trademark is TM, and SM for a service mark. Once the mark is federally registered, you are entitled to use the circle R symbol.

Does incorporating or registering a fictitious name give me trademark rights?

A fictitious name registration or a corporate or LLC name registration is not a trademark or service mark registration. The standards are different.

Trademark Gallery

Defending your business image from trademark infringement

The use by another company of your trademark can lead to lost profits and a tarnished reputation. When a company's similar name, style, lettering, picture or other branding causes confusion, you may have a valid infringement claim.