I finally decided to utilize the Christmas gift my husband gifted me...a Trademark. I'd been mulling over the idea for a couple of years now and knew that it was time. I had probably talked to him about it a million times, and yet I couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to trademark. Over the years, I looked into applying for the trademark myself. However, with my limited legal knowledge, there was no way I would be able to navigate through all of the legal jargon. Outside of researching the national trademark database, USPTO.gov isn't exactly user-friendly. Furthermore, what if someone contested my application? What would I do if I needed to defend it??
At the top of 2020, I sought out an attorney for some guidance and she directed me to a university's legal clinic. The clinic consisted of legal students in their trademarking department doing pro-bono work. I submitted the required application on the university's website and waited for an email or a call. It never came. I expected some sort of correspondence letting me know whether or not they'd accept my request, or at least I thought this would be the next step. For the sake of good customer service, I assumed they'd let me know either way. Still, I heard nothing. Since this was a free service, I didn't want to bother them about it. It's not like they owed me anything anyway.
Fast-forward several months, I finally mustered up the courage, and submitted my trademark application to the McGhee Law Firm. I was pleased to find that Kyona (pronounced Key-aww-nuh) McGhee, the founder, had successfully filed thousands of trademark applications. Her track record is tried and true. Despite her busy schedule, she willingly gives away free educational information. This includes breaking down the differences between a trademark, a copyright and a patent while giving detailed examples for each category. For example, I’ve learned from her that you wouldn't copyright a logo, you'd trademark it. You wouldn't patent intellectual property, you'd copyright it. You wouldn't trademark a lash style, you'd patent it. I've followed her long enough to believe in her skillset, and trusted that she was the best fit for my business needs.
Her website www.TrademarkMyStuff.com is user friendly and easy to navigate. They’re au courant with all the trademark laws, and acutely responsive. After you purchase the trademark package, you're sent a link to their client portal within two minutes. The client portal is your one-stop-shop for the entire trademarking process. It’s where Kyona and her team will send you correspondence, and inform you of any incomplete forms or open invoices. You receive all correspondence to your personal email as well. I however, prefer the client portal because my emails get lost in my phone. I’ve accidentally deleted important messages and/or won’t remember a keyword in an email to quickly pull it up. So, utilizing the client portal helps ME keep track of the trademarking process.
In the client portal, there is a form that you would be required to fill out in order to provide the McGhee Law Firm with information regarding what you’d like to trademark. They'll confirm receipt of your application and then the trademark research process begins. Keep in mind, trademarks aren't given out all willy-nilly. LLC's are. EIN's maybe. A trademark? No ma'am, no ham, no turkey. The US government makes you WORK for it. Hence why I was willing to throw my dollars at Mrs. McGhee and her team (lol).
According to the Trademark My Stuff website, I should receive an Opinion Letter which is the research results of my trademark, in about 4-5 business days. I did research on my own, but lawyers know and utilize more resources than I'm privy to. So, for now we wait and see what happens. I definitely plan on blogging as I am on this journey to my trademark.
Connect with me! Have you successfully trademarked your logo? How was your experience? Respond below!
Thank you for reading. Until next time.
Live. Think. Blog.
Written by: Linda Jay
Edited by: Tammy M.