Understanding Trademarks and
How to File your Trademark the Right Way!
A Seiter Legal Studio Workshop for Startups and Small Businesses
About the workshop
Your trademark is your business’ identity. You do not want it to be “stolen” and used in the wrong way or even besmirched by a scrupulous third party who wants to ride on your efforts and goodwill to take business or clients away from you. This workshop will teach you the basics of trademark protection, including the examination practices at the USPTO, and how to file your trademark the right way and protect your business for the goods and services you are offering to your clients.
In this workshop we will cover
Why and How to Search a Trademark
A trademark search is done before filing. It is a risk assessment. Conducting a search can offer some valuable insight into any potential risks your trademark might face after it is filed, during examination at the United States IP Office (USPTO).
A pre-filing trademark search can help you save costs by avoiding potential obstacles or help you decide if you need to re-visit the drawing board when it comes to your trademark. It is better to be safe than sorry!
How to Properly Classify a Trademark
In trademarks, there are 45 classes of goods and services (see NICE Classification). Each class represents various goods/services which may be relevant to your trademark. For example, a restaurant service is Class 43, and a clothing business can be in Class 25 and/or Class 35.
To adequately protect your trademark, you must classify your goods and services in one or more classes. A lot of times, we find that self-filed trademarks do not adequately cover the scope of goods/services of the business. This means that when it comes to enforcing your trademark or keeping potential copycats at bay, you might not have protected your trademark properly or to the broadest extent.
How to file a Trademark Application
As a small business or startup, costs are a constant concern, and your goal is to make money while keeping costs down. For this reason, a lot of times, small businesses take a risk by filing their trademarks themselves or side-line or wait to protect their trademark rights.
Oftentimes, we find that self-filed trademarks are not done correctly, which could affect the prospects of subsequently enforcing their rights. If you want to save costs and file your trademark on your own, we will teach you how to file your trademark application the right way.
Kiranjit K Dharsan Seiter
About the Speaker
Kiran has been a Trademark Attorney for over 15 years and she is qualified in Singapore and in the United States. She has worked with companies of different sizes in a wide range of industries helping them understand and protect their trademark rights.
She has been working with startups and small businesses in the past few years, acting as their in-house counsel on the outside, guiding them, and educating them on the trademark registration process and benefits.