If you or your
business operate a website, you should get a US trademark, unless the website
uses a ccTLD other than the .us TLD. There are many benefits to getting a US
trademark. A US trademark seems to be the most popular jurisdiction for
trademarks.
Trademark Use In USA
If you operate a blog
with Amazon or CJ or other US-based affiliate ads or even Google Adsense, you
may base your application based on actual use in commerce in the USA by
claiming “Online advertising and promotional services” as your service.
If you operate a
website that sells goods directly or by drop shipping, you should be able to
claim services such as an “On-line retail store services featuring … (describe
your goods.)”
Make sure that you use
your trademark within view of your ads when creating your website, otherwise,
the USPTO may reject your trademark specimen. USPTO trademark applications are usually
examined within 4 months and you can get a registration within 8 months.
Getting a US-based
trademark is generally preferred for protecting domain names with the .com, .net, .org, and .us TLDs from UDRP or Cybersquatting Complaints.
In what other
Countries Should I Register my Trademark?
Your business
should register its trademark in every country:
Where it does
business,
Where it will be
offering its goods and services,
Where it manufactures
its goods, and
Where you plan on
licensing your company’s trademark.
Some jurisdictions
don’t need use before registration, such as the UK and the EU, and China. Other
countries allow for registration based on use and registration abroad, such as
the USA and Canada. In any case, trademarks are vulnerable to cancellation after
the third anniversary of their registration in most countries if you can’t
prove “use of the trademark” within the previous 3 years.
The UK examines and
usually approves trademarks within 3 months of filing your application.
The EU examines and
usually approves trademarks within 6 months of filing your application.
Canada’s trademark
office, CIPO, has typically been taking 12 to 14 months to examine trademark
applications filed since 2016.
Oppositions cause
uncertainty and can get expensive. Any interested person may oppose a trademark
application after a trademarks office has approved it and published it for
“opposition” in its Trademarks Journal. If there’s no opposition, most
countries will send you a Notice of Allowance.
Some countries require
a registration fee. The USPTO requires a Statement of Use fee.
In any case, it is
wise to file your trademark applications as soon as you adopt and clear a
trademark. If you are planning on growing your business quickly or launching a
product before getting a Notice of Allowance, it is important to do a full trademark search to clear your trademark choice.
Otherwise, you may face a trademark infringement lawsuit soon after your sales
start growing or your website gets traffic.
If you think that you
have a very valuable domain, trademark the domain either in the US or in the
country that you list in your address as the registrant of the domain name.
Global Trademarks
There’s no such thing
as a Global trademark. The Madrid Protocol, however, allows you to file one
application in many countries using WIPO’s Madrid System. Trademarks
How can I protect my
trademark?
Trademarks are
registered at the national and regional levels. For example, there are
trademark offices in each country in the EU and there's an EUIPO trademark
office https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimport....
So you can have a
trademark registered in Italy, Spain, Croatia, and Romania, as well as in the
EU.
Trademark law,
treaties and documents
The treaties WIPO
administers, together with national and regional laws, make up the
international legal framework for trademarks.
Trademark-related
treaties administered by WIPO
The Paris Convention is an international treaty that allows
applicants to file a first application in their home country. That application
is referred to as a priority document or filing, and the date it is filed is
called the priority date.
→ The Paris Convention gives you a 6-month window to file
additional trademark applications in various countries after you file a
trademark application in your home country and still claim your priority date.
Nationals of any of the Madrid contracting countries may, in all the other countries party to this Agreement, secure protection for their marks applicable to goods or services, registered in the country of origin, by filing the said marks at the International Bureau of Intellectual Property (hereinafter designated as "the International Bureau") referred to in the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter designated as "the Organization"), through the intermediary of the Office of the said country of origin.
The Madrid system comprises two treaties; the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, which was concluded in 1891, and entered into force in 1892, and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement, which came into operation on 1 April 1996.
The Nice Agreement established a classification of goods and services for the purposes of registering trademarks and service marks (the Nice Classification), in classes numbered 1 to 45.
The Vienna Agreement, concluded in Vienna in 1973 and amended in 1985, establishes a classification (the Vienna Classification) for marks that consist of, or contain, figurative elements, in classes 1 to 29 and up to four sub-levels.
A modern and dynamic international framework for the harmonization of administrative trademark registration procedures.
The Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) standardized and streamlined national and regional trademark registration procedures by simplifying and harmonizing those procedures to make trademark applications and the administration of trademark registrations in multiple jurisdictions less complex and more predictable. The procedures are divided into three main phases:
1. Application for registration;
2. Changes after registration; and
3. Renewal.
The rules concerning each phase are constructed so as to clearly define the requirements for an application or a specific request.
All States party to
the Nairobi Treaty are under the obligation to protect the Olympic symbol –
five interlaced rings – against use for commercial purposes (in advertisements,
on goods, as a mark, etc.) without the authorization of the International
Olympic Committee.
We are a law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or services request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529.
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