What happens if you don’t have a trademark?
If you do not register your trademark, you will have legal rights only within the geographic areas where you operate. This means you may be able to stop a subsequent user of the mark, even if it is a bigger company, from using the mark in your geographic area only.
Can someone use my logo if its not trademarked?
Logos don’t even need to be registered as trademarks to be protected under current law. This means that using someone else’s logo without permission, even if it’s unregistered, is against the law.
Can I use a name that is not trademarked?
By law, you need not request permission to use a trademark belonging to another if it is for an editorial or informational use. … When a trademark is registered with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the trademark owner can enforce its mark across the United States.
Can you do business without a trademark?
Registering your business name for a trademark isn’t required in order for you to have trademark rights. However, a registered trademark can provide greater protection for your brand while helping you build your brand and drive business growth.
Do you really need a trademark?
It does not matter whether you’re selling products or services under your business’ logo and name — a trademark can be essential. If you’re conducting operations as a business, you should be looking into whether or not you should be registering a trademark before doing so.
Can I sue someone for using my logo?
Any time your company uses a logo to identify its products or services, you establish common-law trademark rights. Common-law trademark rights may allow you to sue a competitor to prevent it from using your logo, particularly if it is in a way that attempts to portray itself as your company to consumers.
Can I sue someone for stealing my logo?
Assuming you have formally filed your copyright, you qualify to sue for statutory damages, which are a slightly more formalized range of values that Congress has assigned to works like photographs or songs (reaching as high as $150,000 per infringing work).
What happens if someone steals my logo?
Legal penalties for logo theft can include: Jail or prison sentences. Confiscation of unauthorized products or materials. Cease and desist injunctions.
What happens if someone else trademark your business name?
If the other business has a trademark, the current owner can infringe upon this legal protection by using the same company name. … If there is a trademark in place for his or her company and someone else created a new entity with the same name, this owner can pursue a legal claim and contact a lawyer for a legal remedy.
Can two companies have the same name?
Can Two Companies Have the Same Name? Yes, however, certain requirements must be met in order for it to not constitutes trademark infringement and to determine which party is the rightful owner of the name.
What qualifies as trademark infringement?
Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services.