Many clients ask if a Kansas City (KC) trademark attorney is required for filing a trademark application. The short answer is no. You do not need to be a lawyer to file a trademark application. According to the United States Trademark Office (USPTO), a trademark owner can file a trademark without a trademark attorney or lawyer and can do anything they need to on their own. Alternatively, they can hire an attorney to file or maintain a trademark application for them. A U.S.-licensed trademark attorney or lawyer can file any documents for their clients and can use their support staff or paralegals to assist them.
However, there are reasons you may want to use a trademark attorney to file for a trademark registration.
- ® Trademark law can be complicated and determining what to protect may be difficult
- ® A trademark, if protected properly, can increase the value of your business. See Google…
- ® You can waist money by incorrectly filing your trademark. For example, you may chose the wrong class or wrong type of mark to register your mark.
- ® Your mark may be rejected by the Trademark Office for various reasons, costing you more money and time, versus the cost and time of doing it right the first time.
- ® Even if you succeed in filing a trademark application, if you don’t do a proper search you may find out that someone already registered the mark…wasting more money.
- ® Even if your trademark become registered, you may find out too late that use of your trademark violates someone else’s trademark rights. This may cost you even more money based upon a number of factors including being sued, rebranding your business or changing your signage and marketing materials…
If you would like to file a trademark contact us or try using our online trademark application process, you can begin by clicking here.