- Not sure if you should trademark
your business name now or later?
You wanna secure your business name
before you launch your business,
but your business has to be launched
before you can get a registered trademark.
It's a complete catch 22.
I'm gonna tell you the best time to trademark
so you can secure your business name
and not waste your valuable time and money.
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Hi, I'm attorney Aiden Durham with 180 Law Co. in Colorado,
and you're watching All Up In Yo' Business.
I've helped hundreds of businesses secure
and protect their important trademarks.
And today I'm gonna tell you exactly
what I tell my clients when they come to me asking,
"I wanna trademark my business name,
but I don't know if I should do it now
or wait and do it later."
For most of us,
the simplest answer is this:
the sooner, the better.
Do it as early as possible.
When is this not the case?
When would I not say the sooner you can register
a trademark for your business's name, the better?
Really only if you're not completely committed to the name
and intending on some longterm use of it.
The application process can take well over a year,
and you can't really change
the trademark after it's registered.
So before you go applying,
make sure you are committed to that name for the long run.
But for most of us outside of that,
the sooner you can start
the trademark registration process, the better.
Trademark rights in the United States
arise out of use of the trademark in commerce,
not registration of the trademark.
So you already have rights in a trademark under common law
as soon as you start using it in commerce
in connection with the sale of your goods or services.
But those rights that you get
just by virtue of using a trademark,
they're often limited in geographic scope,
and they can be very difficult to enforce.
And really that's why trademark registration
is such a good idea.
Now let's get back to that whole catch 22.
You wanna make sure your business's name is protected,
ideally before you even launch your business.
Trademark registration, of course,
is the best way to do that,
but you can't get a registered trademark
unless you've started using the trademark in commerce.
So really you can't protect the name
until you've launched the business.
Have you ever found yourself
in a predicament like that where you're not sure
if you should launch your business first
or take care of your trademark first?
Hit the like button
or comment below if you've been there too.
If you've already launched your business
and you're already using the trademark in commerce
in connection with the sale of your goods or services,
you can submit a trademark application
on a 1a current use basis.
But if you've not yet launched,
if you're not yet using the trademark in commerce,
you can instead file the application
on a 1b intent to use basis.
This lets you get the trademark application
and registration process started.
It lets you get first in line in front of anybody
who might file an application after you.
And it gives you time,
in a lot of cases up to about three years or so,
to launch the business while simultaneously
going through this application process
and pursuing that trademark registration.
So even if you haven't launched yet,
you can still get started on protecting
and securing your business name
by filing on a 1b intent to use basis.
But okay, we could do that,
but what happens if we wait?
What's the worst case scenario?
Well, the first step of the trademark process
is to conduct a thorough clearance search
to make sure the trademark is available
for you to use and register.
If you skip that part of the trademark process,
you may miss existing registrations
or earlier applications that could get in the way of yours
or prevent you from registering your trademark.
And it could even put you at risk
of a trademark infringement claim from somebody else.
But let's say you did that part.
You did the clearance search,
you cleared the name,
but you decided to hold off
on the actual trademark registration part.
Somebody else could file an application in that timeframe
between when you started your business
and when you get around to filing the application.
And even if you actually started using the trademark
prior to when that other party did
who filed the application before you,
even though, technically speaking,
your rights in the trademark are greater
because you have first use of it,
that prior filed application could still stand in the way
of your registration because it was filed first.
You'd have to go through either an opposition
or a cancellation proceeding to get that application
or that registration out of the way
so you would then be able to register your trademark.
So just by virtue of waiting,
even if your rights are superior to everybody else's,
you'll have to jump through a lot more hoops
to prove those rights
and get the registered trademark if you waited too long.
I have a great, true life story
to demonstrate why it's important
to register your trademarks early on,
and it has to do with a person
by the name of Kim Kardashian.
I don't know if any of you have ever heard of this person.
Kim Kardashian, little known name.
Kardashians? Who are those?
But this story involves Kim Kardashian.
Kim filed applications to register trademarks
for skin S-K-K-N,
and SKKN BY KIM for different types of skincare
and beauty products.
Apparently, though,
her legal team didn't do a very good job,
otherwise they would have known
that there was already a product out there called SKKN Plus,
S-K-K-N Plus, owned by the company Beauty Concept.
Up until this point,
Beauty Concepts hadn't registered
the trademark for SKKN Plus,
even though they'd been using the mark
for their skincare products for a handful of years at least,
prior to when Kim Kardashian filed her applications.
But by the grace of all that is holy,
Beauty Concept somehow managed
to file their trademark application for SKKN Plus
two days earlier than Kardashian's legal team
filed their applications,
two days earlier than Kim's applications were filed.
Had they not done that,
had Kim filed her applications first,
even though Beauty Concepts
was already using the trademark in commerce
and had been for quite some time,
they would've had a very long road ahead of them
to fight for the trademark registration.
Even though Kim's application was filed on a 1b basis,
meaning that she hadn't started
using the trademark in commerce yet,
and Beauty Concepts was already
using the trademark in commerce,
so there's no doubt of who had first use,
Beauty Concepts obviously was using the trademark first,
but Kim's applications would have blocked
Beauty Concept's applications from being processed
while Kim's applications were being processed,
and then beauty concepts would've had to file
an opposition or eventually cancel,
try to cancel Kim's registrations
before Beauty Concepts would be able to register theirs
solely because they waited to file.
Thankfully, though, that didn't happen.
Beauty Concepts got their application in
just in the nick of time
and avoided any extra battle that they would've had,
by the way, up against Kim Kardashian's legal team.
So, as we can see,
starting the trademark application
and registration process early on
doesn't just help secure your trademark.
It helps to prevent you from having to dole out
even more money to fight for a trademark
that should really already be yours.
Ready to get started with your trademark application?
Well, deciding when to file the trademark application
is really just the tip of the iceberg.
I can teach you the exact process
that I use with my clients,
and the precise steps that you can take right now
that will have you ready to hit that submit button
on your trademark application in just seven days.
Head to this link,
or check the link in the description to learn about Brandish
and DIY your trademark application today.
Securing your trademark is vital
to the success and growth of your business,
and your business and your future self
will thank you if you start that process early.
If you got value out of this video,
hit that thumbs up
and share this video with all of your friends
so more people can learn about
the importance of trademark registration.
Thanks so much for watching.
I'm Aiden Durham,
and I'll see you next time. (upbeat music)