What Is A Trademark

A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization or some other legal entity to identify the products and/or services to the public with which the trademark appears. It enables the proprietors of the trademark to tell apart its products or services from those of other manufacturers or competitors. A trademark is a form of intellectual property, and commonly a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a blend of these elements.

The owner of a registered trademark would probably commence with litigation for trademark infringement to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark by engaging a copyright lawyer to prepare and send the accused a trademark infringement letter. However, no registration is needed. The owner of a common law trademark could also file a dispute, but an unregistered mark may be protected only within a particular area within which it has been used or in geographical areas into which it would probably be reasonably expected to expand.

trademark infringement letter

trademark infringement letter is also known as a cease and desist letter. It is normally sent by trademark attorneys or intellectual property attorneys of the complaining party. The trademark infringement letter would contain the specifics of the complaint and would normally include a call to halt what ever action that is contributing to the infringement. If the accused fails or rejects any calls to comply with the suggestions contained in the trademark infringement letter, the complainant can then file a trademark infringement litigation.

trademark infringement litigation

When the accused fails to comply with the instructions stated in the trademark infringement letter, then legal action would then be the next option. If the litigation is positive, plaintiffs are entitled to a wide range of remedial action under federal law. Such plaintiffs are commonly accorded rulings against further infringing or diluting use of the trademark. In trademark infringement suits, monetary relief could also be available. This would consist of the defendant’s profits, damages suffered by the plaintiff, and the costs of the lawsuit. Damages may be increased if bad faith can be proven. Bear in mind that in trademark dilution cases, however, damages are available only if the defendant willfully traded on the plaintiff’s goodwill in using the mark. Or else, plaintiffs in a dilution lawsuit will only be awarded injunctive relief.

Similar Cases

Aside from trademark infringements, there are also patent as well as copyright infringements. All the same, a patent infringement notice and a copyright infringement notice would be sent out to respective violators.

In all infringement cases, it would be advisable to employ a specialized and skillful lawyer to handle the case.