Introduction
The great attention given to business could be considered one of the key features of the modern world. The fact is that the economy of all states rests on the incomes that are provided by numerous companies. These could belong to individuals, organizations, or government. However, the main aim of any venture is to evolve and guarantee stable revenues. In this regard, they tend to create new and efficient strategies or unique approaches that might condition the acquisition of a certain competitive advantage and creation of the unique and recognizable image. This unique approach is an integral part of a certain brand which attracts customers attention and increases the level of interest. The creation of this strategy is a long-term and complicated process that demands numerous resources and ideas. That is why the modern law provides a set of measures to guarantee the protection of a trade mark for its unique logo, image, and practices not to be copied by other companies that fail to create their own unique approach.
Protection Terms and its legal scope
When speaking about the US law, it obviously introduces certain regulations that serve to limit the usage of brand names or trademarks to preserve their unique image and protect customers interests. First of all, the law recognizes the fact that trademarks serve as indicators of origin and quality by representing the reputation of a certain business and its relations with the target audience. As far as people also rely on trademarks to make their choice, their protection becomes an important governmental task that should be performed to protect citizens of a state.
The US law provides the following types of protection: common law, state registration, federal registration, and other federal statutes1. It means that a trademark could remain either unregistered, registered with one or more states in the USA, or presuppose commerce between different countries. There are databases which include the majority of existing trademarks to guarantee their existence and preservation of their rights. A company is not required to register its trademark in the USA as the right of any trademark arise from its use2; however, in case federal registration is made an owner might acquire numerous advantages. One of them is the constant protection and monitoring of the slightest alterations of the market.
Conditions of the trademark protection
One should remember the fact that there are several conditions for trademark protection that exist in the USA. First, it has to be unique. There is a great number of companies that function on the territory of the USA and the majority of them have their own logos. For this reason, a trademark that is going to be protected should have its own unique appearance that could not be confused with the other one. That is why governmental agency compares the suggested mark to find possible coincidences and avoid any conflicts. Therefore, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) also investigates the grounds for the creation of the suggested mark and assures that it will not break the existing law3. Finally, applying for the registration of a certain trademark, an agent should be ready to accept the terms of an agreement and pay fees that are needed to register the newly introduced brand and protect it throughout its lifespan. Besides, there are also certain specific conditions needed for penal and civil protection.
Conditions of Penal protection
Besides, the federal law states that the terms of penal protection could be explored under certain conditions4. First, the obvious violations of the basic rules will result in the provision of punishments for those who try to use the registered trademark to obtain incomes. Besides, all those who forge a trademark that was registered should be ready to bear responsibility for their actions and appear before a tribunal. Moreover, all companies who place a logo or trademark owned by other organizations on their products should also be punished in accordance with the laws provided by the federal government5. Furthermore, any intentional use of a trademark that is similar to the registered one to obtain incomes should also be punished. Additionally, the law also provides numerous rights for people organization who has already registered its trademark and wants to preserve its competitive advantage to be able to obtain incomes.
Conditions of civil protection
There are also some conditions of civil protection that are used to monitor the usage of various trademarks and preserve the basic rights of the registered brands. Thus, the general regulations are introduced by the civil law of the USA. In general, an owner of a brand might request compensation for any assault of the trademark by filing a claim for illegitimate compensation6. Thus, differences lie in the punishment provided to an offender. The civil protection demands from them financial compensation that should be paid to guarantee that all losses will be compensated and an owner of a trademark will be satisfied with the current situation. Therefore, the claim might be filed by an owner of damage from the assault over its mark against the doer of the same7.
The legal scale for protection the trademark
Therefore, as becomes obvious from the above-mentioned information, there is a certain legal scale for the protection of a trademark. Federal and state laws proclaim that owners of the unique logos or marks should be provided with the tools that could help them to protect their companies. It means that any company should be ready to fight against violators or offenders and involve governmental agencies to assure that all their rights will be preserved. To accomplish this task, there are several unique features and frameworks that are used to create the efficient pattern that will satisfy the needs of brands owners and other organizations that need protection. Therefore, the spatial framework for the protection of trademark includes the further several points.
The spatial framework of protection
First of all, the law that introduces certain regulations functions across all states of the USA. It means that if a company has registered its trademark someone in Texas, it still will be protected in New York. The given model could be characterized by the increased efficiency as the ability to monitor the situation in every state could be considered the great advantage. Furthermore, the USA obviously acts in accordance with the international laws and belong to the international legal terrain. For this reason, the trademarks registered on its territory will also be preserved by the international laws. For instance, Apple has its unique image that is recognized all over the world. Being an American company, it is still protected by other states as its unique logo attracts customers attention. The law assures its rights will still be protected.
The Qualitative framework of protection
The qualitative framework of protection is focused on the provision of the qualitative services for companies which want to create and introduce their own and unique trademark. However, at the same time, the quality of the registered brands should also be appropriate. That is why USPTO provides a comprehensive analysis of any application. A trademark should obviously be characterized by the appropriate quality which means that the image, slogan, numbers, etc. should be careful, explain the nature of a company, suggested products, and attract customers attention. If the suggested logo is able to satisfy all existing demands, the agency will obviously guarantee the protection of all unique features that make it popular and condition the acquisition of a certain competitive advantage.
The temporal framework of protection
Finally, the temporal framework is also important. In general, the once registered trademark is guaranteed protection throughout its lifespan. However, between 5th and 6th year the evidence of continued use should be submitted to prove that c company still uses a trademark8. Furthermore, between 9th and 10th year a renewal should be submitted9. Thus, in case the above-mentioned conditions are met, a trademark will still be preserved.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the current US law provides protection for the registered trademarks to guarantee that their owners will be able to use their competitive advantage and remain beneficial. Furthermore, there are certain basic regulations that condition the usage of penal or civil protection to punish offenders who want to use not their own logos to obtain the benefits and extra incomes. Altogether, it is crucial to mind the fact that every new trademark should meet certain requirements and remain unique for the US laws to be able to protect them. Only under these conditions, protection will be provided.
Bibliography
Luepke, Marcus, Taking Unfair Advantage of diluting a famous mark – a 20/20 perspective on the blurred differences between U.S. and E.U. dilution law, 98 TTR, 789 (2008).
Overview of trade protection in the United States, NIST. Web.
Protecting Your Trademark, USPTO. Web.
Trademark Basics, INTA.
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.US Trademark Law, USPTO. Web.
Footnotes
- Trademark Basics, INTA. Web.
- Protecting Your Trademark, USPTO. Web.
- U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.US Trademark Law, USPTO. Web.
- id. at 7.
- id. at 7.
- Luepke, Marcus, Taking Unfair Advantage of diluting a famous mark – a 20/20 perspective on the blurred differences between U.S. and E.U. dilution law, 98 TTR, 789 (2008).
- Overview of trade protection in the United States, NIST. Web.
- id. at 5.
- id. at 5.