Ever wonder how to protect the brand you work so hard to build? Welcome back trademark law expert, Kelli Jones who teaches us the ins and outs of how a trademark process works, when you might want to consider securing your brand, and what you should look out for before protecting your brand identity.

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Key Take-Aways:

1. A trademark is a part of your brand which identifies your good & services.

2. The difference copyright and trademark: copyright protects original work of author. Trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs that distinguish the source.

3. The point of a trademark is to prevent consumer confusion.

4. Two things that are unrelated can exist.

5. Even if you’re using a brand name first, whoever files a trademark has the most rights.

6. Before creating the branding for your business, do a basic search on uspto as well as Google Search.

7. Hiring a lawyer for applying for a trademark adds further safeguard due to the extended search.

8. It’s important to file the branding with the words used for the business instead of only the logo, so that it’s always covered even when changing the branding colors and logo.

9. The beauty industry is one of the harder industries to get a trademark due to general wording that overlaps in the industry.

10.The trademark process can take a year or more after filing.

11. Trademarks can also negotiate terms specific to the state, but its typically federal.

12. If you’re using a name before someone registers and sends a cease and desist, you can appeal it.

13. A federal trademark will trump a state trademark in court.

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