Are you looking to file for a trademark to protect a name, logo, or service that you own? You'll likely want to know what will happen so that you can have realistic expectations. Here is an overview of the process.

Filing The Application

The first step is to file an application for your trademark. You'll fill out the forms, file them with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and then you'll wait. This is because the department that processes trademark filings typically has a pretty big backlog, and it can take several months until someone even looks at the application. Just be patient and know that it will take a bit of time.

Publishing For Opposition

One of two things can happen once your trademark application is reviewed. Hopefully, it will be published for opposition, which means that there is nothing wrong with the trademark based on the application, and your trademark will go through a window of time where others can oppose the trademark. For example, a competing business may say that the trademark is too close to their own.

The other possibility is that you'll be issued an office action. This means that there are problems with the application that needs to be fixed, or there are issues with the trademark itself. For example, the trademark may be too general, or it may be too close to another trademark and be rejected. 

Filing For Proof-Of-Use

If there are no objections to your trademark or those oppositions have been cleared, you will then be allowed to use the trademark in the way you proposed to use it in your application. This means that you can start using it in a practical way, such as on a website, products, signs, business cards, or whatever other method you stated. 

Once you have used the trademark for a specified period of time, you will file for proof-of-use, which is demonstrating that you are actually using the trademark in some way and not just sitting on it and doing nothing. You will have to show examples of the ways you're using the trademark in this filing, which can be done in the form of submitting photos of the trademark's use.

Receiving Registration

If your proof-of-use filing is approved, you will receive the registration for your trademark. You'll be able to legally use the trademark and have protection from others using your trademark improperly. You'll also be given information on how to renew the trademark.

For more information, contact a trademark attorney near you.