HOW IMPORTANT IS TO TRADEMARK? VERY IMPORTANT! WE ENCOURAGE ALL INVENTORS, ENTREPRENEURS, AND BUSINESS OWNERS TO PROTECT THEIR INVESTMENT BY SECURING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
We want you to protect your investment! We highly recommend not sharing too much information about your creation, idea, and your logo until its federally protected. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that reviews and processes request for patents, trademark, and other intellectual property identifications to inventors and businesses. Here's how you get protected -
What We Do
There's one significant rule that an entrepreneur must always follow, when starting a business. An entrepreneur must always protect their investment by securing intellectual property. We strongly recommend either filing a trademark, service-mark, patent, or copyright protection depending on the products or services offered. Securing intellectual property is costly however, it's worth it. SMEL does not charge an additional fee to complete registration. We are here to help!
Copyright provide best protection for literature works that we're composed by the copyright holder. Such works can be in any form [books, songs, paintings, movies, computer software, sound recording, architectural, choreography, etc.] and disseminated via any platform. Copyright fee ranges from $35 to $55.
Trademarks are words or symbols used by a manufacturer of a product to identify and distinguish products of their creation. Such marks are considered proprietary. Protection is granted swiftly if the mark is currently in commerce. Such marks can be a slogan, logo, or mottos. Any marks used after issuance of your protection, that are "confusingly similar" will be rejected by United States Patent and Trademark Office. Depending on the type of protection, class of protection, and other request(s), the USPTO fee starts at $250.
Patents are another great way to protect your invention or idea. Ideas, techniques, and inventions that are new and creative are highly favored. Several types of patents are available - Design, Plant, and Utility. Depending on the type of protection, patent fee ranges from $100 to $300.
What's Next
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Conduct a federal search
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Prepare necessary documents for trademark
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Create two versions of logo or design (Black / White and Color) with TM symbol
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Make available two high resolution viewing files
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Determine class of protection
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Produce a specimen
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Submit logo or design to United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO)
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Pay federal registration fee
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Within 8 -12 months receive trademark certificate of registration
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Modify original versions of logo or design to include (c) symbol
To get started, please complete our application by clicking here.