Patent Trademark Meaning In Houston
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Trademark process Step 1: Is a trademark application right for you? ... Step 2: Get ready to apply. Step 3: Prepare and submit your application. Step 4: Work with the assigned USPTO examining attorney. Step 5: Receive approval/denial of your application. Step 6: Maintain your registration.
To order the application forms for Texas trademark registration, contact the Secretary of State at (512) 463-9760 or (800) 735-2989, or download the forms from the office website at .
Patents are intended to protect inventions of a functional or design nature. Trademarks provide protection for indicators of the source of products and services used in commercial trade, such as words or logos. Copyrights provide protection for literary and artistic expressions.
A patent allows the creator of certain kinds of inventions that contain new ideas to keep others from making commercial use of those ideas without the creator's permission. Trademarks, on the other hand, are not concerned with how a new technology is used.
Assuming that a patent is available for the subject matter of your concept, that's the way to prevent others from pursuing the same product concept. A trademark, however, is useful—and often crucial—when you are building a brand for your product or service.
The Coca-Cola Corp owns the trademark to the name Coca-Cola, as well as the trademark on the bottle shape, and the graphic representation of their name. These are all things that help distinguish them from other cola brands and define their individual product. Coca-Cola also owns the patent on their formula.
In the United States, a trademark can last forever, so long as it is used in commerce and renewed on time every ten years. To renew a registered trademark, the owner must file the maintenance documents with the United States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) and meet certain legal requirements.
In many instances, the same design can be protected by trademark and design patent laws. Examples of well-known design trademarks which also have been the subject of design patents include the DUSTBUSTER® vacuum cleaner, the APPLE iPod® electronic music player, and the NIKE Air Max 1995® shoe upper.
The presence of a trademark or trade name in a patent claim is not, per se, improper under U.S. patent law (specifically 35 U.S.C. §112(b) or pre- 35 U.S.C. §112, second paragraph).
