Written by Tomas Orsula
Senior Trademark Attorney
Your trademark is officially protected from your application's filing date. However, this rule only applies to those cases when the registration is successful. Once your brand is in the process of obtaining a trademark, you can start using the symbol ™ so that others know that some level of protection applies to your brand. The simple placement of the ™ symbol might prevent copycat attempts.
If you believe some issues might arise during the registration process, such as opposition or refusal, you might want to wait until purchasing and distributing large quantities of your products.
In some countries, such as the US, it is compulsory to start providing your services or selling your goods before the trademark is officially registered. Failing to do so within a certain period will prevent you from obtaining a trademark registration.
Is there an extra fee when filing a trademark on the use-in-commerce basis?
Is there an extra price for responding to the office action?
A US trademark is valid for 10 years; are there any other costs or annual fees during that period?
What are the risks of waiting with trademark registration until I start selling?
What is better – to have separate national trademark registrations or a single EU registration?
What if I want a trademark for a future business idea and don't have any specimens?
How is "acquired distinctiveness" in trademark law evaluated?
Our team of experienced trademark attorneys is here to help you! Simply send us an email outlining your request and we'll be happy to assist you.
