Capturing Trademark Rights - Explained
How to Secure Trademark Rights
Written by Jason Gordon
Updated at September 26th, 2021
- Marketing, Advertising, Sales & PR
- Accounting, Taxation, and Reporting
- Professionalism & Career Development
-
Law, Transactions, & Risk Management
Government, Legal System, Administrative Law, & Constitutional Law Legal Disputes - Civil & Criminal Law Agency Law HR, Employment, Labor, & Discrimination Business Entities, Corporate Governance & Ownership Business Transactions, Antitrust, & Securities Law Real Estate, Personal, & Intellectual Property Commercial Law: Contract, Payments, Security Interests, & Bankruptcy Consumer Protection Insurance & Risk Management Immigration Law Environmental Protection Law Inheritance, Estates, and Trusts
- Business Management & Operations
- Economics, Finance, & Analytics
- Courses
Table of Contents
What is required to secure trademark protection?Discussion QuestionPractice QuestionAcademic ResearchWhat is required to secure trademark protection?
Trademark law requires that a mark be used in commerce and distinctive from other marks. If a mark is used in commerce and sufficiently distinctive, there are two primary methods of securing trademark protection. The first method is state-law protection. State-law protection may include both statutory protection and common-law protection of the trademark rights within a particular states borders. The trademark is subject to protection if it meets all of the qualifications for protection and is used to identify a good or service sold within the state. The second method is federal protection resulting from registering the mark with the US Patent and Trademark Office and using the mark in interstate commerce. Each of these requirements and methods of establishing trademark rights is discussed separately.
Next Article: Distinctiveness Requirement for Trademark Back to: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Related Topics
- What is a Trademark?
- Types of trademark?
- Requirements to capture trademark rights?
- Distinctiveness requirement for a Trademark?
- Determining whether a trademark is sufficient distinctive?
- What is Federal Trademark Registration?
- Conducting Trademark Search
- Should I Conduct a Trademark Search?
- Trademark Application
- Drawing a Trademark
- Filing for federal trademark registration?
- Protections of trademark rights under state law?
- Primary reasons for rejecting a trademark application?
- Common trademark designations?
- Trademark infringement?
- Enforce trademark rights?
- Demonstrate infringement of a trademark?
Discussion Question
Why do you think state law and federal law provide for trademark protections? Can you think of any initial benefits from securing trademark protection under state and federal law?
Practice Question
What are the two types of trademark protection that may exist at the state or federal level? What are the common elements between these methods of protection?