Land grab

Originally posted 2014-01-17 10:17:26. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

General practitioners and even civilians can file their own trademarks if they want to, and it frequently works out okay.  It usually is not the, how do you say?, rocket science.  Yes, there’s good, better and best, but sometimes good is good enough.

But don’t be a dumb-dumb about it. Michael Atkins writes about a preposterously expansive trademark application, listing a gazillion “goods and services,” and explains why it’s usually a mistake to file something like that.  Excerpt:

This kitchen-sink approach raises several issues. First, a U.S. trademark owner does not gain legal real estate simply by grabbing as many categories as the Patent and Trademark Office will allow. Trademark ownership here arises through use, not registration.

Second, a trademark owner need not specify every last category used in connection with the mark. After an owner establishes its rights, it is protected against junior uses that create a likelihood of confusion. . . .

Third, a kitchen-sink applicant sets itself up for having its registration cancelled on grounds of fraud.  In the future, if a competitor determines that the registrant is not making actual use of even one of the hundred-plus categories of goods or services listed, the competitor may be able to have the entire registration canceled. . . .

Just good advice. Read the whole thing and bookmark it if trademark prosecution isn’t something you do all that often.