TRADEMARK BASICS

What is a Trademark?
Trademarks and service marks are words, names, symbols, or devices used by manufacturers of goods and providers of services to identify their goods and services and to distinguish competing goods and services from others. Some of the most famous examples of trademarks are: EXXONMOBIL, COKE, KODAK, MCDONALD'S and TYLENOL.

Obtaining Protection through Registration.
In the United States, one creates trademark rights simply by using a mark in commerce§, but the most effective trademark protection is obtained through a federal trademark registration in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and foreign jurisdictions** where the products are sold or services provided. An owner of a U.S. trademark registration or application can also obtain foreign protection in certain jurisdictions by filing an application through the Madrid Protocol (See discussion below).

Protection of Rights
Trademark law in general protects a trademark/service mark owner's commercial identity (goodwill, commercial reputation, and brand identity) by giving the trademark/service mark owner the exclusive right to use its mark on the type of goods or services associated with the mark or brand. Any subsequent third person who uses the identical or substantially similar mark in connection with the same or related goods or services in a way that is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace is considered an infringer. The trademark/service mark owner can enforce its mark against such infringer under the applicable trademark statutes and "common law" and under applicable foreign trademark laws or treaties.

Trademark and Service Mark Symbols

Once a mark has been registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, it is highly advisable for the owner to give notice to others of that ownership whenever the mark is used in connection with the listed goods or services. Such notice should appear to the extent necessary to sufficiently alert others of the registered rights in this mark. The form of the notice can be "®", "Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office", "Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off." In the event that the Registrant failed to provide such statutory notice and someone infringes the mark without having actual notice of the federal registration, the owner may be precluded from recovering monetary damages in a subsequent infringement action.

Special rules apply to using the "®" symbol outside of the United States. Please contact us if you plan to use the mark outside of the United States. Prior to registration of a mark, the owner can use the symbols ™ (indicating a trademark) or SM (indicating a service mark) should be used in the same instances as the registered symbol would be used. Although, there is no legal requirement or benefit for the use of the ™ or SM symbols, it does indicate to the public that the user considers the mark its proprietary intellectual property and may deter another from using the same or similar mark.

Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks††

The Madrid system for the international registration of marks (the Madrid system) established in 1891 functions under the Madrid Agreement (1891), and the Madrid Protocol (1989). It is administered by the International Bureau of WIPO located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Thanks to the international procedural mechanism, the Madrid system offers a trademark owner the possibility to have his trademark protected in several countries by simply filing one application directly with his own national or regional trademark office (more information regarding the Madrid Union is available at www.wipo.int/madrid An international mark so registered is equivalent to an application or a registration of the same mark effected directly in each of the countries designated by the applicant. If the trademark office of a designated country does not refuse protection within a specified period, the protection of the mark is the same as if it had been registered by that Office. The Madrid system also simplifies greatly the subsequent management of the mark, since it is possible to record subsequent changes or to renew the registration through a single procedural step. Further countries may be designated subsequently.

The United States is a member of the Madrid Protocol and applications for international registration may be filed through the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the following Protocol members:‡‡

Albania	European Union (CTM)	Liechtenstein	Russian Federation	Zambia
Antigua and Barbuda	Finland٠	Lithuania٠	San Marino
Armenia	France٠	Luxembourg٠	Serbia and Montenegro
Australia	Georgia	Malta٠ (EU only)	Sierra Leone
Austria٠	Germany٠	Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic)	Singapore
Bahrain	Greece٠	Moldova	Slovakia٠
Belarus	Hungary٠	Monaco	Slovenia٠
Belgium٠	Iceland	Mongolia	Spain٠
Bhutan	Iran	Morocco	Swaziland
Bulgaria	Ireland٠	Mozambique	Switzerland
China	Italy٠	Namibia	Syria Arab Republic
Crotia	Japan	Netherlands٠	Turkey
Cuba	Kenya	Norway	Turkmenistan
Cyprus٠	Korea (North and South)	Oman	Ukraine
Czech Republic٠	Kyrgyzstan	Poland٠	United Kingdom٠
Denmark٠	Latvia٠	Portugal٠	United States
Estonia٠	Lesotho	Romania	Vietnam

 * These countries are members of the European Union

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§	In the United States rights are vested in the user simply by the use of such mark in commerce, such rights are known as "common law" rights; however common law rights can be limited.
**	In some foreign jurisdictions legal rights in a mark are only granted through registration.
††	This information provided by the World Intellectual Property Office website at www.wipo.int/madrid
‡‡	This list is not exhaustive as new countries may have become members of Protocol subsequent to the posting of this listing and we advise you to consult an attorney for an updated list or the WIPO website.