Fairmont Trademark Attorneys & Lawyers

Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual: What Is It?

The Acceptable Identification of Goods and Service Manual is the guide put out by the United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO that describes the appropriate terms to use when describing goods and services on a trademark application that is filed with the USPTO.

Acceptable identification of goods and services is part of the trademark application process through the USPTO. The section requires the applicant to describe any goods and services that are being registered with clear or concise language.

Though the list given in the Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual isn't exhaustive, it is more extensive than the alphabetical list that's given under the Nice Classificatio

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What Is a Trademarked Logo?

A trademarked logo is a company logo that has been trademarked and receives protection through the trademark laws.

What Is a Trademark?

A trademark is used to protect intellectual property from infringement. A trademark is a name, word, logo, or symbol that represents a company. Time and money are spent developing a company's logo, and it is therefore important to protect.

A company's logo is representative of the brand. The logo is also recognizable by customers, making it important to also protect its reputation.

A trademark is not required, nor is it always necessary. For small, regional companies, a trademarked brand or logo is not necessary. A trademark automatically begins with

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What Is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property (IP) is a general term for the rights recognized by U.S. law for creations of the mind, including:

• Patents - rights granted to inventors for novel and useful inventions.

• Trademarks - rights granted to businesses relating to the branding of their goods and services (company, product and service names).

• Copyrights - rights granted to authors for tangible expressions of ideas (art, literature, music, software code, architectural plans).

• Trade secrets - rights granted to businesses relating to their unique and valuable intangible assets (business processes, client and customer lists, procedures, practices, formulae, research notes,

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What Does it Mean to Trademark a Surname?

A surname alone only qualifies as a trademark if it has already been associated with the business through advertising and has acquired a secondary meaning. It is also clear why somebody with the McDonald surname could not register a fast food restaurant on the name only.

Why is a Trademark Surname Important?

While it is not possible in every case to register a surname as a trademark, if it has "acquired distinctiveness", the business owner should protect it. The approval or rejection of the trademark request depends on:

• Whether the surname is rare
• If it is connected with the person registering it
• If it has a recognized meaning and association with a type of service
• How the name sounds in the business world - Us

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How Do You Patent a Name?

You may be interested in learning how to patent a name in addition to how to patent an idea, however, you cannot patent a name. Instead, you can trademark it by filing an application online at www.uspto.gov. It takes about 90 minutes, costs range between $275 and $325, and you will need to check the Trademark Electronic Search System to make sure the name is not already taken.

There are certain professions or businesses where the name of the owner becomes the identity of the brand. The business services provided by actors, professional athletes, performers, fashion designers etc. are identified almost exclusively by their names. In this sense, it is important for people in such professions to make sure that their names are protected.

Compared to registering a word, getting a trademark for a name is difficult. Y

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