A Trademark Opposition Proceeding is a question of whether your trademark should be allowed to exist or not. Often times this is a tactic used by bigger companies to deny trademarks to small, individual companies. There are two ways that a Trademark Opposition Proceeding can be brought up.
Opposition Proceedings may be brought by the examining attorney.
Trademark applications are usually processed in the order they are received. Once the examining attorney completes the examination of your trademark application, they may send you an Opposition letter. This letter tells you that the examining attorney doesn’t feel like you have the potential for a trademark. In many cases a skilled trademark attorney can overcome the objection and make sure your trademark is registered and protected.
Has your trademark been rejected by the examining attorney? Consult with us and see if we can help.
Another Company Can Object
Once the examining attorney decides your trademark is acceptable, or you overcome his initial objection, the next step is publication in the USPTO weekly publication, the Official Gazette. If a company feels that your trademark it too close to one of their owned trademarks, they can object to your Trademark.
If a trademark application is filed and an Opposition is filed, the applicant for the trademark needs to carefully consider the potential value of their trademark against the cost of hiring an attorney. Any case that requires a trial proceeding, can become costly and an attorney is usually necessary.
Has another company filed an objection to your trademark? Let us help you, contact us for a free consultation.
You can decrease your chances of receiving a Trademark Opposition Proceeding by performing a more thorough trademark search and trademark application. If you are considering the trademark registration process to protect your interests, you should consider the advantages of hiring a trademark professional instead of doing-it-yourself.
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