Importance of Researching Your Name FAQs

I already have a State Trademark. I’m protected, right?
WRONG! Not on a federal level!! You are protected in that state only! A state mark has nothing to do with interstate commerce. You may be allowed to continue using your name in your state if someone obtains a federal trademark on your name, but you’ll never be able to expand! You’ll be stuck with a name that is only good within that one state.

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I already have some sort of trademark. I got it when I registered my name with the county so I could get a checking account, and now our company is incorporated so I am totally protected, right?
VERY VERY WRONG!! What you did was register your name with the county, That’s it! That, and having a corporate name, have NOTHING to do with trademarks!! They may help you prove when you started doing business, but by no means does it protect the use of your name in interstate commerce!

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I’m a new business. I’m just starting out, so it’s okay to wait and do a search and/or get a trademark when I have a chance.
WRONG! Now is the time you MUST do it! When you have a business, product, organization, tag line, etc., every time you advertise that name, receive word of mouth advertising, or use it in the course of doing business, you are investing big dollars in that name! You need to make sure YOU own your chosen name before you start investing in it!! Imagine the trouble you’ll be in if after you start to expand and become successful, you get a legal letter from some lawyer demanding that you cease and desist using what you thought was YOUR name but turns out to be a name legally owned by someone else!

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I can’t afford it. It’s too expensive!
WRONG! You can’t afford NOT to!! Every penny you put into your business name will be wasted if you later find out you don’t own it! Even if you can’t afford to trademark the name right away that’s okay because you start acquiring "common law" rights to the name as soon as you start using it over state lines. But at the very least, you should conduct a search on the name to determine whether or not the name is even available! It can cost as low as only $85.00 and even with our most comprehensive search it’s just $199.00!! Also, the US Government makes it easy to trademark your name yourself!! While it may be preferable to consult an attorney, you can get the same federal protection yourself simply by filling out a form supplied by the government and paying the $325.00 filing fee.

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I’ve used my name in 10 states for over 12 years. Even if someone does trademark my name, I can just wave my proof in their face and they are in big trouble.
WRONG! YOU are in big trouble. It would be nice to think the world worked that way, but in reality once a Federal Trademark is awarded, you may be forced to go through the very extensive process of fighting for that mark in court! It is your responsibility to protect your name with a Federal Trademark. If you don’t, the burden of proof is on YOU!!! Imagine if your mark is trademarked by a division of McDonalds, or AT&T!!! Can you imagine the costs and time involved in fighting for your name against these giants!! They’ll keep you in court until you go broke!!

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I do my business on the internet, so I already have my name protected.
VERY WRONG! Conducting business on the internet will establish you common law rights only. And worse yet, someone who legally trademarks your name can take away your internet domain name! That’s right, even though you’ve used your name for years, believe it or not, the "Internic," the division of the internet that handles domain names, has some pretty strange rules. So, if you are on the internet, it’s probably even MORE important to have a Trademark!! Here is one paragraph of about 30, from the Internic’s (run by a company called "Network Solutions") Domain Name Dispute Policy that could make your life miserable.

Any additional questions?
Email us at info@creativetrademark.com
Call us at 201-825-1313

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