Once you file your company name with the secretary of state, you are able to use that name anywhere you like—including across the country and across the globe. But how is that different from filing for a trademark?
A trademark typically protects brand names, phrases, logos, symbols, designs and images used in conjunction with goods and services and can extend to business names. A trademark owner has exclusive rights and can prevent another from using the trademark. If you sell your product over the Internet, registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office becomes another consideration, as is registering your trademark in foreign countries for protection there.
However, you don’t want to find yourself on the other side of an infringement, building your business only to find out that you are not able to continue to use your name and symbols after such a great investment.
So what do you need to consider and where should you start? For its latest Case Study feature, Business Report asked three local professionals with trademark experience for their guidance on the subject.
Read the full feature for advice from R. Bennett Ford, director of the Roy, Kiesel, Ford, Doody & Thurmon law firm; Lee Ann Lockridge, professor at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center; and Scott Hensgens, managing partner at the Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson law firm.
Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
