We assist many business clients promote and protect their brands by filing for federal trademark registration with the United States Patent & Trademark Office.  We have successfully secured numerous trademark applications in various industries.  These industries include flooring, alcoholic beverages, sports equipment, software, insurance, electrical, and agricultural.

In addition to filing for federal registration, we assist clients in responding to Office Action Letters from the USPTO.  The attorneys at NB have successfully overcome objections by the USPTO based upon descriptiveness and confusingly similar marks.

Successfully filing for a trademark is a great first step in protecting your brand, but prudent trademark owners ensure that they maintain their federally registered trademarks as well.  In order to maintain a federally registered mark, an owner must file a declaration of continued use between the 5th and 6th years after the registration date and again between the 9th and 10th year after the registration date.  A trademark owner may file a declaration of incontestability within one year after 5 years of continued use (typically between the 5th and 6th year after the registration date).  An “incontestable” registration is conclusive evidence of the validity of the registered mark, of the registration of the mark, of the owner’s ownership of the mark and of the owner’s exclusive right to use the mark with the goods/services.  In order to renew a trademark registration, an owner must file an application for renewal between the 9th and 10th year after the registration date.

Finally, we assist clients in enforcing their trademark rights or resisting challenges by other mark owners.  For example, we take action to stop other businesses from using a brand name owned by our client or a brand that is confusingly similar to the mark of our client.  Conversely, some of our clients are served with cease and desist letters and we are asked to evaluate the merits and to respond to such claims.