The worst thing that you can do as a new entrepreneur is open a business or create a product or service without consulting a trademark attorney or creative rights lawyer. What if someone already has rights to the name that you wish to use or are already using? You risk the possibility of receiving a cease and desist letter in the mail, being sued, and being forced to rebrand your entire business or product. 

It is essential for the client to understand what is at stake and what is involved. The more informed the client is, the more they will appreciate how important it is to protect their intellectual property. In the consultation, our Detroit trademark attorney will guide a discussion on your goals and objectives. It is essential the attorney and the client are on the same page from the get go. To understand what the client aims to achieve will clarify the purpose and set proper expectations.

Experienced Michigan Trademark Lawyer

When you register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), you have the full rights to your brand. Registering your trademark protects you and your business enterprises from future liabilities that can be extremely costly to you. 

By applying for a trademark you can protect a word, design (logo), symbol, tagline, or a slogan. Trademarks are either word marks or design marks, you are essentially protecting the name or the design. Our Detroit trademark attorney have secured countless trademarks for businesses and organizations, both local and international.

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The Trademark Process: How It Works

So what does the trademark process practically look like? What are the steps to protecting your name, brand, logo, slogan, etc.? To protect your name, brand, logo, slogan, etc., the first thing you want to do is set up a consultation with a specialized attorney to get an understanding of the overall trademark process. Some firms charge consultation fees to secure the appointment with their attorneys while others don’t. Attorneys often charge a consultation fee to ensure that the client takes the meeting seriously and is not merely looking for free advice. Consultation fees range from $100 – $200 depending on the firm and the region.


Trademark Search

The next stage in the process is to conduct a comprehensive search across all relevant databases to determine if there would be any potential conflicts for the client’s trademark. These databases include federal, individual states, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), companies, domains, social media sites, and others. After a comprehensive search, the attorney will analyze the search report for the client. This could be accompanied by an opinion letter that the attorney drafts, for the client’s convenience, summarizing the findings of the search report and advising the client on the best plan of action. 


Trademark Federal Filing



At this juncture, the attorney should respond to the examining attorney by no later than six months. Otherwise, the application will be abandoned. Even if that deadline is missed, for whatever reason, the attorney can still respond but would need to pay additional fees for such a late response. Let us know if you received an Office Action.

Trademark Opposition 



That is an overview of the trademark process and a breakdown of the steps it takes to get your trademark registered federally with the USPTO. It is essential to work with a law firm that knows the process and has experience delivering results for its clients. Get in contact with our Detroit trademark attorney and ask any questions you have to have the peace of mind you deserve.