Connecticut Trademark Lawyer Blog

If you are a company seeking a U.S. trademark registration for its business name, there are strict rules that must be followed. These rules are made available to the public at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.

U.S.Trademark Statutes
The federal statute that governs U.S. Trademark registrations is commonly known as the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1051 and subsequent provisions. The Lanham Act is the CT trademark attorneys basis for seeking and maintaining trademark registrations, as well as bringing trademark infringement and unfair competition claims.

Trademark Rules of Practice
In addition to the Lanham Act, there are Rules of Practice that govern U.S. Trademark application review and approval procedure. These federal rules may be found in Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Rules are broken down into the following sections:

-- Trademark Rules: Part 2
-- Trademark Assignments: Part 3
-- Classification of Trademark Goods and Services: Part 6
-- Madrid Protocol Trademark Filings: Part 7
-- Representation of parties before the USPTO: Parts 10 and 11

The primary purpose of the Trademark Rules of Practice is to advise U.S. trademark attorneys and trademark owners of the regulations and rules that have been established to supplement U.S. Trademark statutes, making all parties who have interests before the Trademark Office aware of their rights and obligations.

If you are the seeking a business name trademark, it is advisable to speak with an experienced U.S. trademark attorney to assess your trademark rights and options. For further information on U.S. Trademark Law, please contact James Hastings at (203) 244-4264.

Trademark law provide companies with important exclusive ownership rights to use their trademark on goods and services to the exclusion of other parties. If a competitor begins to use an identical or similar trademark for the same or related products, a claim of trademark infringement may be the result.

Being accused of trademark infringement by another party is a serious claim. In order to assess the merits of such allegations, it is helpful to have a working knowledge of the definition of trademark infringement and the legal standards for prevailing in such an action.

Trademark Infringement Basics

Generally speaking, trademark infringement is when one party is using a trademark that is confusingly similar to an existing owner's trademark such that there exists a "likelihood of confusion" between the goods and services offered by the junior owner and the senior owner. Like most areas of law, whether a party can prevail in a trademark infringement claim is dependent on the law and facts of the case. Certain factors the courts look at in comparing the trademarks of plaintiffs and defendants include the following:

-- similarity in sight, sound, and meaning
-- relatedness of the goods and services being offered for sale under the marks
-- the fame of the senior user's trademark
-- the number and nature of similar trademarks on similar goods and services

Know Your Trademark Infringement Rights

If you or your company is involved in a trademark infringement dispute, you have rights. There are many good resources to find out more about trademark law, including the United States Patent and Trademark Office and my related blog, the Trademark Law and Litigation Guide. Since trademark law is complex, it is always advisable to speak with an experienced CT trademark infringement attorney prior to undertaking any action or responding to a trademark cease and desist letter.