Don’t let this happen to you. Your business name and/or logo defines your business and promotes goodwill to others. It is one of your most valuable assets, and it needs to be protected.
There are many reasons to protect your business name and/or logo and different ways to protect it. Implementing appropriate name protectors will prevent third parties from using your name without your permission and may protect you from infringing upon another person’s name or logo.
Federal and state laws provide certain rights and protections for business names and logos. We would be happy to help you decide which option is right for your business.
Trademarks and Service Marks
Trademarks and service marks are words, phrases, designs, sounds or symbols protected under “common law” rights that come into existence by one’s actual use of a particular mark either in connection with a tangible good (trademark) or a service provided to others (service mark). Generally, the first to either use a mark in commerce or file an Intent to Use Application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has the ultimate right to use and register the mark.
Common law rights are based on “likelihood of confusion” standards and are limited to the geographical areas where the mark is used. Registration of a particular mark at either the federal or state level is optional, however, registration (particularly at the federal level) is strongly encouraged because of certain additional benefits available to the registrant. For example, the owner of a registered federal trademark is entitled to receive attorney’s fees and costs of litigation in an infringement case whereas such costs and expenses are normally not recoverable by the owner of a non-registered mark. Registration also serves an that evidentiary function in that one’s actual use of the mark is a matter of public record.
Copyright
A copyright protects intangible original works of authorship which are fixed in a tangible medium of expression, and includes logos or other pictorial works. Copyright is a statutory property right which grants to the creators of the logo or pictorial work certain exclusive rights in their creations for a limited period of time. Copyright includes the right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to make derivative works based upon the copyrighted work, to distribute the copyrighted work to the public, and to publicly display such work. Copyright arises upon creation of the work and endures for the life of the author plus 50 years. Although registration of a copyrighted work with the U.S. Copyright Office is not required for a copyright to exist, federal registration is encouraged because such registration is a prerequisite to a lawsuit for copyright infringement and for certain legal remedies.
Trade Names
Nebraska law defines a trade name as every name under which any person does or transacts any business in the state other than the true name of such person and requires that anyone doing business in Nebraska using a trade name register such trade name with the Secretary of State. Upon registration of a trade name in Nebraska, the owner of the trade name will be able to limit reproduction and imitation of the trade name by third parties in any manner that is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception.
Please feel free to call our office if you have any questions or concerns regarding the protection of your business name or logo.