Hey, Legacy Builders! Welcome back to lesson four of the Trademark chapter of the IP for Business Blueprint course. I’m Jenn McNeely with JWM Designs and in this video lesson, I’m going to talk about the ways you can protect your trademark or service mark from infringers, regardless of whether your mark is registered or unregistered. This is the last video lesson of the trademark chapter of my intellectual property course.
I am so glad that you’ve stuck to it and you’re doing all your action steps for each lesson. If you haven’t already watched the prior video lessons in this playlist where I discuss the differences between trademarks, service marks, how to create or select a protectable mark for your business, and how to register your business with the USPTO, I strongly suggest that you take a look at them.
Whether or not your mark is registered or not, you have the right to protect your brand from infringers who want to capitalize on your popularity or who just want to do harm to your brand for other reasons. Understanding your options when it comes to protecting your ownership rights is a crucial component of protecting your brand. As I’ve mentioned in prior videos, your exclusive right to use a mark is not dependent on whether you register your mark with your state or the USPTO. By default, you can have what’s called a common law right to your mark based solely on the fact that you use your mark in commerce. However, it is your responsibility as the owner of the mark to enforce your rights or file legal action against potential infringers. No matter the registration status of your mark, there are several things you need to do to protect your mark from unauthorized use by infringers.
What You Can Expect: Each week I will post a new chapter on my blog and my YouTube Channel. Be sure to download the e-notebook for this course. It is packed with so much information and with space for you to take notes.
Link to e-notebook: https://bit.ly/2SIufR8
