You may have noticed on Facebook that I obtained a trademark on my logo and name! It took quite a bit of work and there was a reason that I did it. I thought you might like to know what exactly is involved and why you might want to consider it.
Why bother trademarking your name?Actually, anyone can say that something is trademarked simply by adding ™. What you pay for is registering ® the trademark with the USPTO- (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office). A Wall Street Journal article claims you can do this in 90 minutes and that the process is pretty straightforward. I beg to differ- but then I am not of Wall Street Journal caliber…The reason I wanted a trademark is because if you want to sell products in the chain stores, you need a registered trademark. At least this is the guidance I received. So that is what started the whole thing… (more on that when I am able to tell you about it!)
I registered my name and my mark (logo). You can just submit your name but I figured if I am going to spend the money ($275 or $325) I might as well get both 🙂
So you will need a logo to submit. The submission requirements are stated on the site. I sent a .jpg in the size and format they wanted. I had to fiddle with it a little but it was fairly easy if you are comfortable in PhotoShop or other photo editing software. You have to describe the mark in words (what does it look like- colors, text, etc). Make sure to keep the description consistent. I had the examining attorney contact me with a question about that because I called the color aqua in one place and turquoise in another! But that was an easy fix- I just emailed her back and the application continued through the process.
I watched every YouTube video I could find about filling out the form which was very helpful. If your logo has been already placed on a product line before (mine was) you had to submit your request in the correct category, which took a little research.
All told it took eight months for the final notice to come through. It could have been sooner but I got stuck on a question and let it sit until I figured it out.
Once the application is sent in, it takes a while for them to check on everything you have attached. As I said, I did have an email with a question about the colors, so it’s nice that you have the contact information for the attorney that will be handling your case. She followed mine the whole way through and signed off on it.
Next time I will share the saga of getting my domain name… oh boy. Learn from me, people!