Obtaining trademark registration is an important first step in protecting your brand from copycats or competition attempting to confuse the market. However, that doesn’t mean you stop at trademark registration. You also need to enforce your trademark.
Just because you have a registered trademark does not mean that everyone will respect it. Some may try to get away with copying your logo, brand name, or other elements in hopes that you don’t notice. Others may not do due research into registered trademarks and may accidentally use a business name or brand elements that are too close to your own.
Garcia-Zamor can help you protect and enforce your trademark registration with our TradeGuard trademark monitoring services. In today’s blog, let’s discuss what to do if someone infringes on your trademark. Or, more to the point, what your legal team does to stop the trademark infringement.
Reach Out to Garcia-Zamor
If you catch someone infringing on your trademark, the first thing to do is seek legal support from Garcia-Zamor. If you use our TradeGuard services, you’re already one step ahead. We monitor your trademark and alert you to any potential infringements. If you’re new, you can discuss the case with us through a consultation and we will walk you through our next steps. The following steps are measures that we take on your behalf to stop the trademark infringement.
Send a Cease and Desist Letter
We start by sending a cease and desist letter to the company infringing on your trademark. This lets them know the way in which they are infringing on your trademark and insists that they cease and desist in using that trademark. In the cease and desist letter, we also lay out the legal action that will be taken if they do not cease and desist.
In many cases, the infringement stops there. If the brand infringed on your trademark unknowingly or if they want to avoid any further legal action, they will simply comply with the letter and cease the trademark infringement. However, there is a possibility that they will push back and contest that their actions were not a trademark infringement.
File a Civil Suit
If the letter goes ignored or the company refuses to cease and desist, we will then file a civil suit. Civil suits can be filed in state or federal court. We will start by filing a complaint that lays out the infringement and our attempts to get the other party to cease and desist. From there, we can file a motion for a court order to stop the infringement. The court may also award you monetary relief for the business you may have lost due to the infringement.
Continue Monitoring Your Trademark
With TradeGuard, we will regularly check USPTO publications and major social media websites for any potential trademark infringement. Our searches come with analysis from our attorneys so that you understand the potential infringement and the ramifications it can have on your business. This is an affordable service with three different plans so you can find the TradeGuard service that best fits your budget.
Garcia-Zamor has over two decades of combined experience when it comes to intellectual property law. We will help you protect your trademark and enforce it when others try to infringe that trademark. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you or to sign up for Tradeguard.
