Trademark protection is essential to protect a brand name, logo, trade dress and trade packaging. ANAND LAW evaluates marks for registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), registers marks with the USPTO, and defends against any opposition or USPTO Office Action which may arise. We also draft and negotiate license agreements, and when necessary, litigate claims for trademark and trade dress infringement, trademark dilution, and unfair competition.
Trademark Law
DOES YOUR NAME, LOGO, OR DESIGN QUALIFY AS A TRADEMARK?
You should not be expanding your business without trademark protection. If you are already running your business, or if you have a concept for a brand, we can evaluate your name, logos, trade dress/ trade packaging, and other material for probable success in registration with the USPTO.
SEARCH & ANALYSIS
Not only identical marks can prevent your mark from being registered. Marks that are just similar to yours may also prevent you from registering your mark. An analysis of both marks, and the goods/services they relate to must be analyzed.
Thus, an analysis must include a deep search of other marks out there already being used. If there are other marks being used, even if they are not registered with the USPTO, they may have superior rights to the trademark than you will. We provide comprehensive searches which include the USPTO, Common Law, California Business, and Domain Name searches, and analyze these results to provide you with an evaluation of the chances of a successful registration.
REGISTRATION WITH THE USPTO
Often, creative solutions are required for getting your mark registered. The exact mark matters, and one letter in a brand name can be the difference between national protection, and no protection. There are many nuances to trademark law, and an understanding of this allows us to come up with ideas that will work for you. Many times, clients come to us with a brand name, logo, or design that does not qualify for registration, but we are able to come up with slight variations that still convey the message you want, and can be registered with the USPTO.
LICENSING
The licensing of intellectual property is a business endeavor which must be done with great care and skill. ANAND LAW negotiates and drafts licensing agreements with creativity and precision. We take into account both the legal boundaries of a particular licensing arrangement as well as the business objectives of the client.
TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT AND TRADEMARK DILUTION
Trademark enforcement is critical to maintaining the goodwill of a brand. ANAND LAW litigates, on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants, actions for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and related unfair competition claims.
DOMAIN NAMES & SOCIAL MEDIA
ANAND LAW can assist you in defending against cyber-infringers in both local and global venues. We assist clients in pursuing “cybersquatters” (who have registered your domain name) and so called “typosquatters” (who have registered confusingly similar names) through out-of-court means as well as litigation under the federal Lanham (Trademark) Act and Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), and under California’s unfair competition statutes.
Although there are no laws specific to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, each social media platform has their own internal policies for dealing with cybersquatting and impersonation. Each forbids impersonation, but parody is allowed. Twitter also has a system of authenticating accounts of public figures by placing a “Verified Account” badge on them. We stay on top of the changes in these policies, and can assist you with making sure you and only you control your brand and image.