Brand Protection Attorney

Registration is not required to have trademark rights in the US: the Lanham Act defines a trademark to include any word, name, symbol, or device used by a person to identify and distinguish their goods (15 U.S.C. § 1127), and Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)) applies whether or not the mark is registered. Registration on the Principal Register adds specific benefits: constructive notice of the registrant's claim of ownership (15 U.S.C. § 1072), the right to give notice of registration with ® (15 U.S.C. § 1111), the infringement claim for registered marks (15 U.S.C. § 1114), and a registration certificate that is prima facie evidence of the mark's validity, the owner's ownership, and the owner's exclusive right to use the mark for the listed goods or services, subject to any conditions or limitations stated in the certificate (15 U.S.C. § 1057(b)). In Canada, subject to sections 21, 32, and 67 of the Trademarks Act, registration gives the owner, unless it is shown to be invalid, the exclusive right to use the trademark throughout Canada for the registered goods or services (s. 19), and an applicant is not entitled to register a trademark that, at the earlier of its filing date and its date of first use in Canada, was confusing with a trademark previously used or made known in Canada by another person (s. 16(1)), unless that trademark has been abandoned on the day the application is advertised (s. 16(3)).

A professional brand monitoring program watches for new trademark applications that are confusingly similar to yours, domain registrations using your brand name, and social media accounts or marketplace listings using your mark. The goal is early detection: catching an infringing use before it builds an audience. The USPTO publishes its Trademark Official Gazette each Tuesday; we track the published marks systematically.

Yes. A US trademark registration with the USPTO and a Canadian registration with CIPO are two separate filings in two separate systems. I hold bar admissions in California, Ontario, and Quebec. I file US and Canadian trademark applications; Canadian examiner's reports, oppositions, and section 45 proceedings are handled through a licensed Canadian trademark agent. Cross-border protection also means monitoring and enforcement on both sides of the border from the same firm.

Trademark protects brand identifiers (names, logos, slogans) that distinguish your goods or services in the market. Copyright protects original works of authorship (writing, music, visual art, software) fixed in a tangible medium of expression. They protect different things and are governed by different laws. A logo can serve as a trademark for the brand identity, and the logo artwork can also be protected by copyright if it is an original work of authorship. We recommend a strategy that covers both.

We recommend documenting the infringing use with screenshots and dates before you do anything else, then contacting a trademark attorney. A cease-and-desist letter is a formal demand to stop. If the infringer is using a domain name, the UDRP provides a mandatory administrative proceeding in which the complainant must prove that the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a mark in which it has rights, that the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name, and that it has been registered and is being used in bad faith (UDRP ¶ 4(a)); the remedies available are cancellation of the domain name or its transfer to the complainant (UDRP ¶ 4(i)). If the infringement is on a platform, we recommend using the platform's trademark reporting process where one exists. The right move depends on what they are doing and where.

Yes. You can file separate trademark applications for a word mark (the brand name as text) and a design mark (the logo). A standard character drawing is used to register words, letters, or numbers without claim to any particular font style, size, or color; a special form drawing is used for a mark that includes a design, color, or words in a particular font style or size (37 C.F.R. § 2.52). We recommend considering both filings.

A cease-and-desist letter is a formal written demand from your attorney to the other party, requiring them to stop the use, sometimes within a set deadline. We recommend sending one only when you have identified a clear infringing use, confirmed your trademark rights, and documented the infringement.

AI-generated content (deepfakes, AI voice clones, synthetic logo variations) is covered by the same Lanham Act provisions as other content; they make no exception for content created with AI. A person who, without the registrant's consent, uses in commerce a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of a registered mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of goods or services, where that use is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception, is liable in a civil action by the registrant (15 U.S.C. § 1114(1)(a)). A person who uses a word, name, or symbol in commerce in a way likely to cause confusion as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of their goods, services, or commercial activities by another person is liable in a civil action by any person who believes they are or are likely to be damaged (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A)). Once a violation is established, 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a) lets the plaintiff recover the defendant's profits, damages, and the costs of the action, subject to sections 1111 and 1114 and to the principles of equity.

In the US, if someone files first and you believe you would be damaged by the registration, you can file an opposition within thirty days after the mark is published, a period that can be extended on written request (15 U.S.C. § 1063(a)). After registration, a petition to cancel based on likelihood of confusion with a mark you previously used in the United States and have not abandoned (15 U.S.C. § 1052(d)) must be filed within five years from the date of registration (15 U.S.C. § 1064(1)); grounds such as genericness, abandonment, and fraudulent procurement may be raised at any time (15 U.S.C. § 1064(3)). Both are formal proceedings. In Canada, an applicant is not entitled to registration if, at the filing date or the date of first use in Canada (whichever is earlier), the trademark was confusing with a trademark previously used or made known in Canada, or previously applied for in Canada, by another person, or with a trade name previously used in Canada by another person (Trademarks Act, s. 16(1)), unless, on the day the application is advertised, the earlier application is no longer pending or the earlier trademark or trade name has been abandoned (s. 16(2) and (3)), and a registration is invalid if, subject to section 17, the applicant was not the person entitled to secure it (s. 18(1)(d)). We recommend filing before you invest further in the brand.

A knockout search takes 2 to 5 business days, and a full search with a written opinion takes 5 to 10 business days. The application is filed within days of approval. We do not forecast processing times at the USPTO or CIPO. Brand monitoring starts from the date of filing. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1057(c), once the mark is registered on the Principal Register, the filing date counts as constructive use conferring nationwide priority, subject to the exceptions in 15 U.S.C. § 1057(c) for earlier users and applicants who have not abandoned their marks. You can use ™ immediately.