Securing your intellectual property rights

If you are interested in using a trademark for your manufacturing business you are going to need to make sure that you secure your trademark. Securing your intellectual property, even if it is just the name of your business is important because it is going to protect your business from your competitors. When you secure your intellectual property what that means is that nobody else can go through and use your business ideas. Securing your intellectual property can include protecting any business ideas that you might have, such as a product that you have invented, it can also mean you need to trademark your business name so that nobody else can use it. Protecting the name of your business is important so that nobody else can use the business name, which prevents people from getting your business confused with other businesses, especially your competitors.

The first thing that you are going to need to do when protecting your intellectual property through a trademark is to choose a trademark for your business. When choosing a trademark you want to choose a mark or a name that is distinct, so that it stands out from others. The problem arises when you choose a name that can be conflicted with others. If you make up your own word for your business or product you are probably safe because nobody else would have thought of that word. You want to be careful so that you do not use generic words to describe your business because they can make you ineligible for a trademark, but they can also be challenged by your competitors that have similar words in their business name. With a trademark you need to use the words or phrases in your trademark for your business so that you do not lose your legal protection.

The second thing that you will need to do is ensure that nobody else has already claimed rights to your name or mark. The bad thing about finding out if there are any other claims out there is that there is not one spot that you can go to find out about any claims. You will need to do a search through various places. You will want to start off by searching your national registry, and then proceed to the state or regional registers in the places that you are going to be doing business. The internet is another source that you can use to search for conflicting domain names or any common law marks.

As soon as you have figured out which mark you are going to use you will want to make sure that you register it as soon as possible. In addition, to registering it you will want to publicize it as much as possible so that other businesses know that you plan on using that name. What you want to do is establish your mark so that it is used in commerce or you can declare your intention of using it in commerce as often as possible. When registering your trademark you want to document all of your calls and letters that deals with your application, just any case any questions come up during the application process or after the mark is registered.

As soon as you have registered your trademark you will want to adopt the "R" sign, which is the letter R circled. If you have not registered your trademark you will want to use the "TM" or "SM" symbols to show that you are in the process of registering your trademarks. You will also need to make sure that you guard your trademark against infringement, which can best be done by making your mark distinctive, using it as an adjective or a noun rather than a verb, and watch out for any new businesses with similar marks arriving in your location.