3 scenarios where you would need a trade mark attorney

If like so many business owners you have either misjudged the necessity of registering a trade mark, incorrectly applied for one or discovered your rights are being infringed upon, it may be time to seek professional help.

There are so many scenarios where engaging a qualified trade mark attorney is the smarter choice with the above three being the focus of this guide.

Learn why your intellectual property (IP) is not only worth protecting but worth doing so with the help of a skilled expert. We guarantee you'll rethink taking a DIY approach to this valuable and essential IP protection measure.

You are in the process of designing and adopting a new trade mark for your business. You settle on a word or logo and begin using it without worrying about registration.

Before long you are served with a cease and desist letter citing infringement on another's registered trade mark.

Not only are you placed in an incredibly stressful situation you have also lost any money that was invested in designing your mark. Any merchandise, advertising, websites, vehicles or similar featuring the mark will also have to be modified at added expense.

Solution

Having a trade mark attorney involved from the outset ensures a thorough search of existing marks is performed in advance of use, identifying any conflicts or risks. Stopping you from inadvertently engaging in infringing behaviour and allowing for a complication-free registration process.

Following a trade mark search, you determine your trade mark is cleared for use and decide to formally register it with IP Australia.

However, due to errors in your paperwork and the discovery of a similar existing mark, your registration is delayed and you're left trying to make sense of what went wrong and how to resolve it.

Solution

Engaging a trade mark attorney to handle your trade mark registration helps to avoid common errors that can see your application rejected.

Your attorney will perform all necessary paperwork and do in-depth research regarding your mark before submission to ensure a streamlined and complication-free process.

Where challenges arise during prosecution (processing) they are also best placed to manage this on your behalf. Submitting additional evidence, providing sound legal arguments or amending the application as required.

Despite doing all the right things regarding the registration of your trade mark, you have discovered that someone is infringing on your rights and using it without permission.

You have been unable to stop the behaviour despite your best efforts and your reputation, finances and the value of your business are now all seriously at risk.

Solution

Seeking out a trade mark attorney immediately upon discovering incidences of infringement is highly recommended. Specially qualified and trained in all areas of trade mark law, these attorneys quickly and effectively move to stop unauthorised use of your trade mark.

Where the infringement activity has been lengthy and has caused significant consequences for your business, they are also capable of seeking compensation and pursuing legal consequences for the perpetrator.

Ensuring you are properly represented in these incidents can greatly influence how seriously an infringer takes your demands, facilitating more favourable outcomes overall and greatly reducing associated stress.

It is easy to think that these scenarios are unlikely to happen to you or are generally quite rare, however, this is not the case.

As leading trade mark attorneys IP Guardian advise, trade mark research, registration and defence are all increasingly complex to navigate.

Without proper guidance and support, these types of issues are becoming all too common, placing business owners at risk of losing their valuable IP rights.

For this reason, investing in a trade mark attorney is strongly recommended.

If you're someone who doesn't think twice about insuring your business against loss, the same approach should apply to obtaining a trade mark to prevent competitors from appropriating the reputation in your business that you have worked so hard to build up.

An incredibly valuable asset to your business both now and in the future, it is essential that no mistakes are made in establishing and protecting your rights. The bottom line - trust the professionals and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with doing so.