How to Get a Trademark, Cheap

I've only done this once, but, it was easier than expected. You don't need to pay a service hundreds of dollars to do this.

It costs $325 for the one trademark, but the costs can rise if your mark is used in different contexts. If you use the online forms and are well-prepared, you can save some money and get it done for $275.

Do You Need to Register the Trademark?

It's up in the air. Lawyers and websites say you should, but, legally, you're protected once you start using a name in conjunction with a specific product or service. Always document the first use, by noting it in your diary or something.

It's probably more important to spend all the initial money on the project or product, to see if you even want to do it long-term. Do the work even before taking care of all the "business" aspects. Then figure out if there's a profit in it. If you are sure you're into it and the profit will come, register the trademark and start using it. At that point you could even put it on a credit card and know that you'll make the money back, because you enjoy the work.

Domain Names

I don't know if domain names are considered a way to establish a trademark.

According to the Domain Names and Trademarks FAQ on nolo.com, the answer is "no" if you have a generic domain, like dictionary.com.

On the other hand, if your business is named HalCom and you registered halcom.com, it might be enough evidence in case someone else come along and does business as HalCom. You can say "I started it first, here's proof." However, to my untrained mind, it seems like flimsy evidence at best, because there's a lot of domain names that are being "squatted" and it's hard to show it was really being used. Get a "DBA" instead.

Doing Business As

If you want to be cheap, file a Doing Business As (DBA). It's $12 (LA County, 2008) plus the cost of placing a DBA ad - a "Fictitious Business Name Statement." I think that's around $40, but more in better papers.

Los Angeles folks can do this in Norwalk, CA at the LA County Registrar's Office. Check your county's website for your local details, prices, etc. When you get there, some people will be offering to help you file it and place an ad in their paper. These are hucksters and pretend to be government workers, but they are just salespeople for these papers. They'll overcharge you. Don't fall for it. There are plenty of underworked government workers inside willing to assist.

Before you go, you should do a search for the business name. The search is on the Registrar's website. This is the exact same search that the clerk can do for you - there are also self-serve terminals at the office, so you can search there too.

If this DBA doesn't sound like enough - or if you're going to do some interstate trade, you might want to register your trade mark, for the authority it carries. In the long-run, it might save you hassles.

Register Online, Save $

Their online system works well, and you can go through the forms for practice, without paying. (Unlike commercial sites, government sites make it kind of difficult to pay, so don't worry.)

They also have a search service, so you can find out if your name is already taken.

Before you dive in, there are some basic concepts that, if you know them, will make the process easier.

Words and Appearance

You can trademark the name of your company or product, or the way the name is presented, but not both at the same time. For example, let's consider IBM, their logo, and their name. (I won't display it here. Look at apple.com.)

They probably applied for several different trademark protections. First is the name "IBM". They've obviously registered "IBM". They probably registered "International Business Machines" as well, because that's their full name.

Additionally, they've probably registered the appearance of the logo, with the specific lettering, and the white stripes, as well as the blue color. The following logo might be considered an infringement on their trademark:

If IBM had a logo in addition to their well-known one, they'd have to trademark that as well. This could be something artistic like Apple's logo, or something I'd consider less artistic, like AT&T's blue planet logo and that trendy typeface. +

The basic rule is, you have to register the words and the appearance separately.

For starters, you should stick to trademarking the name.

Classes of Trademarks

A "class" is a description of a range of types of product, service, or other sellable thing that can be trademarked. The term "class" is meant to be like "classification", not like "social class" or "classroom." For example, IBM sells computers (they still sell big ones). They also sell computer services -- if you have enough money, you can hire someone from IBM to come over and write software for you. These are two different classes of trademarks.

Here's another example. Chanel makes perfumes. Chanel also makes dresses. Perfumes are classified under "cosmetics", while dresses are classified under "clothing".

If you sell more than one class of product, you need to register a trademark for each class of product.

Registering for more than one class will cost more money.

You should do it, though. There was a record company called Apple Corps. They put out the Beatles records. There have been a series of lawsuits between Apple Corp and Apple Computer, as detailed in a Wikipedia article. (Then again, maybe it makes sense to let another company with your trademark get big, so you can sue them.)

Appeals

If you screw up your application, you'll have to appeal it. This costs money. So, practice on the website over and over until you get it right. Make sure your trademark doesn't conflict with another one.

Here's a link to their site.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/workflow/start.htm