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This short questionnaire takes about 3 to 5 minutes. It suggests which Ambit service may fit what you describe.

This is an automated tool that offers general guidance about Ambit services, not legal advice.

Before you begin. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not legal advice.
New to trademarks? The basics, in plain English (optional reading)
What is a trademark?

A trademark is a name, logo, slogan, or other branding you use in the marketplace to identify your goods or services and distinguish them from everyone else's. Anything used that way can function as a trademark, so long as customers connect it to you as the source of what you're selling.

Trademark rights arise from use, not from registration. Once you start using a name to sell your goods or services, you have rights in it, whether or not you ever file anything with the USPTO. Registration adds a lot, but it isn't what creates the right.

What does it actually mean to "trademark" something?

You'll hear people say they "trademarked" a name. It's common terminology, but it's not technically accurate. Trademark rights arise from use, not registration. When you start using a name in the marketplace to identify your goods or services, you have trademark rights in it. What people usually mean by "trademarking" is applying to register a mark, which strengthens rights you already have (or expect to have once you start using the mark).

What is a service mark?

Technically, a "trademark" identifies goods (i.e. products) and a "service mark" identifies services. As a practical matter, everybody says "trademark" for both, including lawyers and the USPTO half the time. The protections and the process are the same. Where the distinction shows up is in classification. Goods fall in classes 1-34, and services fall in classes 35-45.

Is a trademark the same thing as a copyright?

No. They protect different things. Copyright protects a creative work itself, such as a book, artwork, photos, software code, or website copy. Trademark protects the branding you use to identify the source of your goods or services.

A work is protected by copyright automatically under the law the moment you create it. Registering the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office is a separate, optional step that adds enforcement benefits.

If trademark rights come from use, why bother registering federally?

A few reasons. Unregistered ("common law") rights are real, but they're hard to pin down and hard to prove, and their geographic reach is murky. A federal registration is a public, national record of your claim, and it strengthens your position considerably if a dispute ever comes up.

The flip side is worth knowing too. Registration strengthens rights you already have; it is a big step up, not a force field.

Does a trademark registration mean I cannot be sued for infringement?

No. A registration strengthens your position and takes certain arguments away from challengers, but it doesn't make you immune. Even a successfully registered mark is still susceptible to challenges down the road, including from unregistered common law marks with earlier rights in a particular area.

1. Your mark
How many marks are you asking about?
What are the different kinds of marks?

A word mark (the USPTO calls it a standard character mark) covers the wording itself, with no claim to any particular font, color, or styling. That's generally the broader protection when the name is what carries the value. A design or logo mark covers a specific visual presentation, and it generally doesn't reach the wording alone when the wording is used in a different style. Different forms of the same brand, such as ACME and a logo containing ACME, work differently than genuinely different brands, and some businesses file both to cover each piece of what they actually use.

Mark 1

What form or forms are involved?

Select every answer that applies.

2. What you offer

Use your best practical estimate. An attorney will confirm the legal classification before any filing.

What are trademark classes?

If nobody's explained "classes" to you yet, here goes. The USPTO and other trademark offices throughout the world classify the universe of goods (i.e. products) and services into 45 categories, primarily for administrative purposes. Goods fall in classes 1-34, and services fall in classes 35-45. Each class covers certain types of things. As examples, class 25 includes most clothing and apparel products, class 30 includes certain non-alcoholic foods, drinks, and cooking ingredients, and class 35 includes various retail services.

The USPTO charges its filing fee per class, so the number of classes in an application drives the total USPTO fees.

The USPTO explains the system in plain English at uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/goods-and-services. An overview of the individual classes appears at the bottom of that page under the "Trademark classes" headline.

How many classes do I need?

Many businesses sell goods that fall into two or more classes, and any business that sells both goods and services will have stuff that falls in multiple classes no matter how related it all seems. Filing in one class covers the goods or services in that class and nothing else, so leaving a class out leaves that part of the business uncovered.

That said, you don't have to file in every conceivable class. Your attorney helps you decide both which classes potentially apply and which ones to actually file in, based on budget and need.

A practical rule of thumb is to count the distinct kinds of things you sell rather than every product name. A coffee shop that also sells branded t-shirts and bagged coffee beans is usually looking at two or three classes (restaurant services in class 43, clothing in class 25, coffee in class 30). This tool also reads your description above and shows a first look at the likely classes with its suggestion.

3. Use
Have you been using this name in your business for years?
Are you already selling under this name across state lines or online?

Federal trademark registration is based on use of a trademark in “interstate commerce,” which generally requires (for trademark purposes) product or service sales that cross state lines or sales to customers in other states. That is why we ask.

Do I have to be selling already before I file?

No. You don't have to actually be selling the products in order to file, because we can file on an "intent-to-use" basis beforehand. If we file on an intent-to-use basis and the application is approved, there'll be another filing later, called a Statement of Use, to demonstrate to the USPTO that you've actually started using the mark as stated in the application. The Statement of Use is an additional filing with its own attorney and USPTO fees when the time comes.

4. History
What is the difference between a knockout search and a clearance search?

A knockout search is a search and analysis of the USPTO database for potentially conflicting registrations and pending applications. It looks for potential problems that may come up in the registration process, but it doesn't analyze the risk of unregistered trademarks that may have priority in certain geographic areas of the United States. Say some other company is using a similar name but never applied to register it. There's nothing in the USPTO database, so a knockout search won't catch it.

A clearance search includes everything in a knockout search but goes further, and analyzes the risks from unregistered marks in use around the country. Unregistered marks usually aren't a problem immediately, but they can become one later if you try to expand into the geographic area where the unregistered mark has priority.

Either way, based on the analysis, you get Ambit's assessment of the risk level and a recommendation on whether to apply to register the mark.

Does a clearance search mean my mark is truly without risk?

No. Despite the name, a "clearance search" doesn't truly clear any mark. It's a subjective analysis that can't uncover every stone, so nothing is certain. A search reduces the risk considerably compared to the dice-roll scenario. It doesn't eliminate it.

What you get from Ambit is a risk assessment, not a verdict and not a formal written opinion.

Do you know of a similar mark being used by someone else for products or services similar to yours?
Has there been a refusal, opposition, cancellation, demand, cease-and-desist, or lawsuit involving the mark?
Was the mark bought, assigned, or acquired from someone else?
Are you seeking protection outside the United States, or is this inquiry limited to U.S. protection for now?
5. Owner

The 'owner' is whoever actually owns and controls the mark, often your business rather than you personally.

Who would own the mark?
Should the application be filed in my personal name or my company's name?

The owner needs to be whoever actually owns and controls the mark, and that's often your business, not you personally. If the company is the one selling the goods or services under the name, the company is usually the right owner. Getting this right matters, because an application filed under the wrong owner can be invalid.

6. What is riding on it

Check every statement that applies. These answers tell the tool how much protective depth to suggest, so check everything that's true for you.

7. What do you think you need right now?
Which sounds closest?
How do I decide whether to do a search at all?

A lot of startup companies decide to skip the search and just roll the dice on whether the USPTO will register the name. The downside to rolling the dice is that it takes a long time to get even initial feedback from the USPTO (lately, the better part of a year). And even a mark that registers can still be challenged later by someone with earlier unregistered rights.

Practically speaking, most folks start using the name immediately in the dice-roll scenario, generally due to business needs or just impatience. That can be okay, so long as you understand the risk. You may not get a registration and (perhaps even worse) may have to completely change the name mid-stream if some other mark owner threatens you with an infringement claim. For cost-conscious startups, that's often a reasonable risk to take. For a company that's about to spend a lot of money building a brand, it makes a lot less sense, and those companies almost always invest in a pre-filing search anyway.

If cash is tight and you don't mind a little risk, there's no compelling reason to do a deep-dive search. If a name change mid-stream would hurt, search first.

Are you only looking for renewal or maintenance of an existing U.S. trademark registration or some other registration?

Maintenance means the periodic USPTO filings that keep an existing registration alive. That's a different service than a new application, so a Yes here gets individual attention rather than a package suggestion.

Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not legal advice.