Search Trademark

Business method patents protect some very important things in your business.

Since the Supreme Court s decision in 1998 to grant patents based on business methods, the Patent and Trademark Office has been inundated with applications of this type. There is currently a four-year wait for patent application approvals.

Before 1998, it was normally the assumption that a method of doing business could not be patented, and only a few property protections were in place. But in 1998, a landmark case between Signature Financial Group and State Street Bank and Trust, handed down a decision that a patent could be obtained based on a method of doing business. The dispute between these two companies involved a way to calculate

concerning mutual funds, and the Supreme Court agreed that a particular method for calculating them could be patented under a business method patent.

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Logos play an important part in marketing and brand recognition. Take, for example, Nike s Swoosh, Mercedes-Benz s Star, or Target s Bullseye. These logos have become immediately recognizable as identifying the source of particular goods and services. Typically, companies will invest a lot of capital developing a flashy or eye-catching logo in order to build strong brand recognition. However, in building this brand recognition, companies, especially small businesses, may sometimes overlook the importance of protecting their logos through the trademark registration process.

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In the Indian Union, trademark (brand name) rights arise through use as a trademark. There is no legal requirement to register a trademark. However, there are multiple benefits to having a trademark registered with the Indian Trade Marks Registry (TMR).

Trademark registration is perhaps the most important piece of a company s intellectual property protection program. Without trademark registration, a company relies solely upon common law rights in the geographic area in which it uses the trademark. Most significantly, without registration, a latecomer may register a mark identical or similar to the company s mark. This registration by another user may block the expansion of the company s use of its trademark in other areas or may block the

company s later attempt to register its trademark. That s definitely a hard pill to swallow for the company which could have averted these problems with early registration. If the company had registered it prior to the other user, the TMR would have denied the other s same or confusingly similar trademark. In addition, the company would always have rights superior to the latecomer, and would not be blocked in its expansion plans.

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There s nothing new under the sun is probably the one phrase no inventor wants to hear, seldom believes, and is always trying to prove wrong.

However, moving too quickly to prototype stage and first disclosure can turn out to be costly for the inventor who doesn t take the time to find out if his or her invention is already patented.

Yet, with over 3000 utility patents being issued each week in the United States, that can seem like a daunting if not downright impossible task.

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While some individuals choose to hire attorneys to walk them through the process of applying for a trademark, others choose to use a trademark research firm, which can cost thousands of dollars less. It is important to remember when hiring someone to do your research that they not only search through Federal and State trademark records for name similarities, but also Common-Law listings.

Many people are under the impression that they can perform their own comprehensive search utilizing the help of search engines, in addition to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (herein referred to as the USPTO). While it is a good idea to become familiar with the USPTO website, individuals sometimes believe that the

data they collect from this website is truly representative of the trademarked names which are currently being used. The USPTO s website is never a thorough way to search the name you re hoping to trademark! The website is not updated regularly, and in addition to this, you can ONLY search Federal trademark records on the USPTO, NOT State trademark records OR Common-Law records!

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