The owner of a healthy business knows that a sound advertising and marketing strategy is critical to its success. Trademark registration can be an important factor in gaining market share and securing protection against a competitor, or even a former employee, seeking to establish a competing business under a similar name.
A trademark is any distinctive word, symbol, or logo that identifies the source of goods or services in the marketplace, thus permitting consumers to distinguish between brands of competing goods or services. Trademark law confers a property right on the owner, granting the right to exclude others from using a similar mark in connection with goods or services in any manner likely to cause consumer mistake, confusion, or deception.
In Florida, a trademark registration certificate confers statutory rights beyond the basic scope of “common law” rights, which are acquired in an unregistered mark through commercial sales of goods or services under the mark. With statutory rights, for example, a Florida registrant prevailing in infringement litigation is eligible for equitable and monetary relief, including recovery of attorney’s fees.
Notably, Florida statutory rights are limited to Florida, but most modern business models are rooted in interstate commerce, especially with the growing number of e-commerce businesses. Although the federal trademark registration process is more time consuming and expensive, the rights conferred can be essential for brand protection of interstate commercial activity. A federal registration certificate confers the legal presumption that the trademark is valid and owned by the registrant, and that the registrant has the exclusive nationwide right to use the mark in commerce. In an enforcement action, a federal registration can confer rights beyond the typical opportunity for injunctive and monetary relief. For example, a federally registered mark in continuous use for at least five years can gain the statutory status of incontestability, entitling the registrant to a bundle of powerful enforcement rights.
For more guidance on these and other trademark questions, please contact one of your Rogers Towers intellectual property attorneys .