By Maryann Lawrence, Startup Rep, Direct Incorporation
So, you’ve got a great name and you want to start printing your business cards, brochures and sales sheets. But first, you’ll need to perform a trademark search to make sure no one else has nabbed your name. Why is this important? Because finding out after you’ve started using your name can have a devastating effect on your business in the form of fines, legal liability, and the lost cost of having to switch names midstream.
Performing a trademark search is free and easy.
You’ll need to perform a trademark search before you submit your application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Submitting a trademark registration application blindly risks a considerable amount of time and money.
Don’t worry! Performing a Trademark Search is free and will ensure that you can use the name you want to use for your business. It also lessens the risk that your trademark registration application will be rejected by the USPTO.
When trademarking, keep expansion in mind.
Even if no one else is using the name in your state or geographic region, a Trademark Search will reveal if someone is using the name in any part of the country. This is important to businesses that plan on expanding. And we all invision growing our business, right?
Each year, thousands of business owners find out that they are practically frozen out of expanding to an area with their business or brand name, as someone in that area has Common Law Rights to that business name. A Trademark Search will reveal this scenario up front, before your put time, money and effort into building a brand.
Perform a free trademark search for your business now.
Do you have questions about trademarks? Please leave a comment below and I will try to answer them. Thanks! – Maryann
