Blog

Can Trademarks Help Protect NFTs?

Can Trademarks Help Protect NFTs?

In the past few years, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become a popular investment product. NFTs are cryptographic assets found in blockchains. Many people have purchased NFTs in the hopes that their value will increase or remain high. But, for something like an NFT to be valuable, it must be protected from unauthorized reproduction. Trademarks are a valuable strategy for protecting brand names, slogans, and logos. Trademarks are also used in the same way to protect NFTs from unauthorized use of reproduction.

Trademarks are names, phrases, words, designs, or other defined items that establish the identity for a company in a customer’s view. By registering your trademark, you are protected from other infringing your property. Registration creates a legally documented ownership of your trademark as part of the business you are running, which oftentimes is a very valuable asset. Furthermore, trademark registration can provide legal resolution for preventing others from damaging the honor of your business.

NFTs can include things such as digital artwork, fashion and accessories, avatars, music, sports highlights or memorabilia, memes, social media. They serve as valuable assets to businesses. One example is by generating sales and increasing your customers. Business owners can also make money with NFTs using smart contracts, that are immediately executed when the customer sends payment or completes some other condition. Additionally, your business could benefit from earning royalties on secondary sales of NFTs. It is important to trademark your NFT, to protect it from infringement and increase its value. In addition to obtaining protection from infringement, a federally registered NFT trademark enables you and your business to increase your brand identity and gain more recognition in the virtual world.

NFT trademark applications have increased tremendously from every sector. Some of these include finance and banking, food and beverage, restaurants, art, music, entertainment, clothing, and retail. The power of trademarking NFTs comes from preventing the damage of integrity of your NFT. This comes in the form or infringement protection, stopping counterfeit NFTs, as well as future types of infringement that may be unpredictable. One example involves the popular French designer/retailer, Hermès. The company sued a digital artist selling “Metabirkins”, claiming that their trademark protection of the real-world Birkin extends to the virtual world as well. This is a great example that highlights the importance of hiring an experienced trademark attorney which is imperative to protecting your assets, both virtual and in the real world.

Have Questions about the Patent or Trademark Application Process? Contact the Highly Reputable Omni Legal Group Today

The process of gaining an NFT trademark is the same as in the real-world marketplace, which begins with filing a trademark application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ensuring a complete and valid application is imperative to protecting your trademark now and in the future.

The lawyers at Omni Legal Group have years of experience filing all types of trademarks and can handle your application for you. We are a premier Patent, Trademark, and Copyright law firm located in Los Angeles. For further information or to schedule a consultation please contact Omni Legal

Group at 855.433.2226 or visit  www.OmniLegalGroup.com to learn more.

Intellectual Property Protection

There are many different types of intellectual property, and it can be confusing to understand the difference between them. In this blog post, we will discuss the difference between a patent and a trademark.

Both of these are important forms of intellectual property protection, but they offer different levels of protection and serve different purposes. If you are in need of a patent lawyer in Los Angeles to assist with either a patent or a trademark, please contact Omni Legal Group for a consultation.

What is a Patent?

A patent is a form of intellectual property protection that is granted to an inventor for a new invention. The invention can be a product, a process, or a machine. In order to receive a patent, the invention must be new and unique.

A patent gives the owner of the patent the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a period of 20 years. After the 20-year period expires, the invention can become part of the public domain, and can be used without permission if the patent is not renewed.

What is a Trademark?

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and distinguishes goods from one company from those of another company. A trademark can be registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office, which gives the owner of the trademark certain legal rights.

A trademark can be used to protect a brand name, logo, or slogan. For example, Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan is a registered trademark. Trademarks can also be used to protect the shape of a product, like the Coca-Cola bottle.

The owner of a registered trademark can and if need be, take legal action against anyone who violates the security of the trademark without permission.

Which One is Right for Your Business?

If you have invented a new product, process, or machine, you will want to file for a patent. If you have a brand name, logo, or slogan that you want to protect, you will want to register it as a trademark.

If you are not sure whether your invention is patentable or if your mark is eligible for trademark protection, contact our office for a consultation. Our experienced patent and trademark attorneys in Los Angeles can help you determine the best course of action for protecting your intellectual property.

Have Questions about the Patent or Trademark Application Process? Contact the Highly Reputable Omni Legal Group Today

If you have an invention and want to obtain a patent, retaining the services of a reputable and experienced patent lawyer is extremely important. Whether you are in need of, or have, a provisional patent, non-provisional patent, design patent, utility patent, or plant patent application, Omni Legal Group is here to help. Omni Legal Group is a premier Patent, Trademark, and Copyright law firm located in Los Angeles. For further information or to schedule a consultation please contact Omni Legal Group at 855.433.2226 or visit  www.OmniLegalGroup.com to learn more.

Common Misconceptions about Patents

Patents provide a designated period of time where you get “control” over your invention. The way patents operate is that it gives you a legal recourse if a competitor attempts to utilize elements of your patent. This resource is a type of intellectual property right that gives you as the inventor a legal right to your ability to profit from your intervention.

A patent provides the exclusive access and rights to your invention including the design, invention itself, and the process of creating the invention in exchange for complete disclosure of your invention. Obtaining a patent protects you from any group or individual competitor that tries to utilize your design or implementation of your patent. In short, patents provides one legal protection for mitigating any patent infringements or any element improperly utilized by a competitor.

1. Patents are Cost Prohibitive

There are several different elements to the total cost of obtaining a patent. Key factors include your United States Patent and Trademark fees, attorney fees, and professional diagram or drawing fees.

There are a number of ways you can lower the costs and fees associated with obtaining a patent for your invention. These include making sure you have prepared a long length and very detailed summary of your invention, being ready to start the process with a finished invention, and able to provide a application for your patent in draft form.

Working with a highly experienced patent lawyer at the Omni Legal Group will help you be able to streamline your application which can lead to overall lower fees.

2. Patents Last Forever

Generally speaking, patents issued these days last no more than 20 years, as long as your maintenance fees are paid, if applicable for your type of patent. The 20 year count down starts from your initial application filing date, as in, your first application for your patent that you send into the Patent office.

• Utility patents —> The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues fees on a 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 year schedule for utility patents.
• Design Patents —> If you file a United States design patent, there are no required fees.

The goal of the strategic scheduled fees is that you can let your patent lapse if you desire due to unforeseen financial circumstances surrounding the use of your patent or if the commercial benefits are no longer in line with your goals. The USPTO office sets the amount of the maintenance fees and how the fees scale in price strategically in line with a gradual raise of fees at each milestone.

Have Questions about the Patent Application Process? Contact the Highly Reputable Omni Legal Group Today

If you have an invention and want to obtain a patent, retaining the services of a reputable and experienced patent lawyer is extremely important. Whether you are in need of, or have, a provisional patent, non-provisional patent, design patent, utility patent, or plant patent application, Omni Legal Group is here to help. Omni Legal Group is a premier Patent, Trademark, and Copyright law firm located in Los Angeles. For further information or to schedule a consultation please contact Omni Legal Group at 855.433.2226 or visit  www.OmniLegalGroup.com to learn more.

Why Do I Need a Patent Attorney?

U.S. patent law dictates that an inventor must file a complete patent application within the first year of public use or disclosure of your patent or within one year of your very first offer to sell your patent.

Patent attorneys help businesses and individual inventors through the very complicated and convoluted process of securing a patent for an invention and enforce the rights of your patent if they were to be challenged or violated.

The purpose of filing a patent is to ensure your right to prevent anyone from selling the same product or benefiting indirectly from a design aspect for example. To ensure your patent is as shield proof as possible from litigation, it is critical to hire an experienced patent attorney to conduct the proper research, draft and submit an application that encompasses your unique invention to the fullest extent possible allowed by the relevant patent law codes and legal regulations in the United States.

While there are only a hand full of different types of patents, it takes time to properly research which category best fits your invention.

Speaking of research, it is in your best interest to hire a patent lawyer to conduct a thorough and detailed patent search on your behalf as it will most likely take hundreds of hours to properly seek out the information needed by yourself without the necessary tools and expertise. There are many specific, detailed requirements and deadlines in the application process that must not be missed or your right to your specific and unique patent could be jeopardized, or worse yet, open for competition.

Furthermore, if your patent were to be violated or contested, it is imperative to have the counsel of a professional patent attorney in Los Angeles for adequate legal representation for matters such as infringement, licensing issues and re-examination issues. Licensed patent attorneys are further prepared to take legal defense action upon any issuance of actions by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Have Questions about the Patent Application Process? Contact the Highly Reputable Omni Legal Group Today

If you have an invention and want to obtain a patent, retaining the services of a reputable and experienced patent lawyer is extremely important. Whether you are in need of, or have, a provisional patent, non-provisional patent, design patent, utility patent, or plant patent application, Omni Legal Group is here to help. Omni Legal Group is a premier Patent, Trademark, and Copyright law firm located in Los Angeles. For further information or to schedule a consultation please contact Omni Legal Group at 855.433.2226 or visit  www.OmniLegalGroup.com to learn more.

How to Navigate Class Selection in a Trademark Application

How to Navigate Class Selection in a Trademark Application

Registering a trademark can be a difficult and stressful process. Why? Because one of the key aspects of the trademark application process is selecting the correct “class” for your trademark. There are 45 classes in total, and it is up to you, the applicant, to select the right one.

The class selection process may be intimidating, as each class relates to a specific type of good or service. However, there are often ambiguities and misinterpretations of what good or service should fall into which class. This is where the counsel and guidance of an experienced trademark lawyer can prove to be invaluable.

For example, your product might fall under one of the most common trademark classes, class 42 (also known as the “Science and Technology Services” class).

This class is geared towards services handled by trained professionals such as chemists, engineers, computer programmers, physicists, etc. for services that deal with scientific and technical services such as:

• Software design services,
• Technical research,
• Computer programming,
• Chemistry services,
• Architectural services,
• Biological research,
• Chemistry research
• Cloud computing and seeding services,
• Computer technology consulting,
• Construction drafting,
• Medical research,
• Electronic data storage, and
• Environmental protection research.

For example, a class 42 trademark might be pursued for cosmetic research, biological research, and even computer data recovery.

Classes That Commonly Coordinated with Class 42

Class 42 includes an array of services in technical and scientific fields. However, there are situations in which class 42 does not cover all areas of technical services such as medical services or the installation of computer software. In such circumstances, it is essential that you invest the time, or seek the counsel of an experienced trademark attorney, to identify other classes that cover your service. It is important to understand the different components of what you are looking to register as a trademark. It is possible that your product or service requires filing in multiple classes to cover the different components of what you are looking to protect with a trademark. Some classes commonly related with Class 42 include:

• Class 9: Electrical and Scientific Apparatus,
• Class 36: Insurance and Finance Services,
• Class 37: Construction and Repair Services,
• Class 38: Telecommunications Services,
• Class 39: Shipping and Travel Services,
• Class 40: Material Treatment Services,
• Class 41: Education and Entertainment Services,
• Class 43: Food Services,
• Class 44: Medical and Vet Services, and
• Class 45: Legal and Security Services.

Registering a Class 42 Trademark

The first step in registering a Class 42 trademark is to conduct a trademark search for existing marks within that class and the related classes. Once this search is complete, the next step is to prepare and file your trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A trademark examiner will then review your application, and if all requirements are met, a registration may be issued. The last step of the trademark process is to maintain your trademark status. If these steps seem intimidating or overwhelming, it is strongly recommended you contact an experienced trademark attorney to help guide you through the process.

Have Questions? Contact the Reputable Omni Legal Group Today

As you can see, properly assessing and choosing the class your service falls under can be difficult and is rife with potential pitfalls. Nevertheless, if you have the counsel of an experienced trademark attorney in Los Angeles, such as the expert professionals at Omni Legal Group, you can rest assured that everything will be handled accordingly. Omni Legal Group is a premier Patent, Trademark, and Copyright law firm located in Los Angeles. Our legal team of highly experienced patent & trademark attorneys, specialize in protecting your intellectual property securing your patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Whether it’s a provisional patent, non-provisional patent, design patent, utility patent, or plant patent application, Omni Legal Group will see it through. For further information or to schedule an appointment please call 855.433.2226 or visit www.OmniLegalGroup.com to learn more.

How Can an Unregistered Mark Create Problems for a Trademark Application?

Common Law Rights in Trademark Approval

Many prospective trademark applicants wrongly assume that the Examining Attorneys at the Trademark Office, when conducting trademark searches for the applicant’s proposed mark, will search common law rights (i.e., use rights and unregistered rights) along with the registered and pending marks.

The Examining Attorneys at the USPTO lack the resources to conduct common law searches. As a result, when an applicant fails to conduct a comprehensive search prior to filing for a trademark, you could wind up investing time and resources to register the trademark at the federal level, but that mark may still be infringing on a third party’s trademark rights at the common law level.

How Common Law Can Muck Up Your Mark

The United States adheres to a “first to use” trademark system, not a “first to file” system like many other countries. As a result, common law rights (i.e., use rights) are important and should not be neglected.

For example, if a third-party individual or company possesses senior common law rights, they may be able to initiate a proceeding with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to either oppose your pending trademark application or cancel the trademark registration altogether.

This can be particularly frustrating since the third-party individual or business with senior common law rights does not need to have filed or registered the mark. Rather, they simply must have used the mark in commerce before your application is filed.

As mentioned, it is extremely important for applicants to conduct common law searches in advance of filing a trademark application with the USPTO.

Increase in Trademark Applications

The Trademark Office has been experiencing a large surge of trademark applications in the past few years, largely due to the proliferation of e-commerce sites. For example, the USPTO received over 92,000 trademark applications in December 2020, which is an increase of 172 percent over December 2019.

As a result of this massive uptick in application filings, you need to be patient when filing your trademark application. Typically, pre-surge, it would take less than four months for an Examining Attorney to be assigned and to issue an Office Action. Nowadays, the wait time is between seven and eight months for a full review of a trademark application and issuance of an Office Action. Other delays have occurred with Responses to Offices Actions, review of Statements of Use, and post-registration review.

For example, post-registration processing, which prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, typically took around thirty days for review by an Examining Attorney, is taking between 60 and 90 days during the pandemic and surge in applications.

Need Help with a Trademark Application? Contact Omni Legal Today

An experienced trademark attorney at Omni Legal Group will assist by researching your trademark and filing your federal trademark application. We are here to guide and assist you through the entire trademark registration process.

Have Questions? Contact an Experienced and Reputable Trademark Attorney in Los Angeles Today

If you are looking for professional assistance in completing a comprehensive trademark search and filing a trademark application, contact an experienced trademark lawyer at the reputable Omni Legal Group. Omni Legal Group is a premier Patent, Trademark, and Copyright law firm located in Los Angeles. For further information or to schedule a consultation, please contact Omni Legal Group at 855.433.2226 or visit  www.OmniLegalGroup.com to learn more.