Do I Need an Attorney to File a Trademark? - Law - Trademarks

Very new companies and small organizations have to keep a tight lid on expenses. Typically, this means that they simply cannot afford to employ and pay an attorney to prepare, submit, and register their trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"). So they either file a trademark application themselves or use one of the ultra-cheap document assistant services on the Internet (these services are not provided by legal professionals and provide virtually no worth whatsoever). Not surprisingly, in these situations, the initial trademark application is inaccurate in some form.

When the trademark application is sent to to an examining attorney at the USPTO, the examining attorney examines the trademark application for any disorders or challenges. This includes both issues inherent with the trademark being applied for and troubles due to potential confusion with presently existing trademarks that have been filed or registered with the USPTO. The examining attorney then issues a notice known as an office action that sets forth all denials and refusals that must be answered or responded to by the applicant within six months. If the trademark applicant is not represented by an attorney at law, the examining attorney will often include a statement in the office action advising the applicant to obtain the help of an attorney.Upon receipt of the office action, many unrepresented applicants recognize that their choice not to retain an lawyer to help them with the trademark application was a error. Not only will they probably have to hire a trademark atto rney anyway to respond to the office action, but the flaws in the initial application may greatly restrict what an attorney at law can fix at this point in the procedure anyway. Added to that, the applicant has spent hundreds of dollars on the trademark application that the USPTO will not return.

Unrepresnted applicants are essentially left with three options. The applicant can simply throw in the towel and abandon the trademark application altogether. The applicant can take on the enormous task of trying to learn trademark law and try to correctly respond to the office action. If an applicant chooses this route, it is best to buy one of the layman friendly guides out there, such as How To Respond to a Trademark Office Action Without An Attorney. Finally the applicant can hire a trademark attorney and spend a ton of money. Often, the realization is hiring a trademark attorney from the outset would have been best.

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