Helping You Protect Your Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) can be critical to your company’s success. Protect these valuable assets with our attorney at Aaron Wilkerson, PLLC, by your side.
From our Waco office, attorney Aaron Wilkerson helps clients throughout Texas and the U.S. with their legal needs regarding patents, trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property. With a background as a former rodeo athlete, he brings a unique and relatable approach to legal representation.
When you choose us, you will get a dedicated intellectual property lawyer who has over 20 years of experience and is authorized to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Should You Register Your Trademark?
A trademark is an image, design or phrase used to distinguish your products or services from others. Simply using a mark creates certain legal rights. So, registering your trademark isn’t required. However, it can provide key advantages, including:
- Creating a legal presumption that you own the mark and have the right to use it
- Granting you federal rights and the ability to protect them nationwide
- Helping prevent inadvertent infringement by publicizing your mark
Our attorney can guide you through every step of the process of pursuing registration and its benefits.
Helping You Apply For Trademark Registration
You start the trademark registration process by filing an application with the USPTO. The application requirements generally include:
- Forms: You must fill out and send in the forms that fit your particular situation.
- A fee: The application fee is nonrefundable, regardless of whether your application is ultimately approved.
- A drawing: This is a visual that shows what your mark is.
- Specimens: These are photographs or other evidence showing that you actually use the mark in relation to your company’s goods or services.
Let our lawyer help ensure that your application is complete and accurate.
Common Reasons For Trademark Registration Denials
An application for trademark registration can be denied for several reasons, including that the mark in question:
- Has primarily descriptive or generic words
- Is too similar to another mark
- Uses another person’s name without permission
- Is only or primarily a last name
- Is a common phrase
- Wasn’t properly demonstrated by the specimen
Our attorney can guide you as you take proactive steps to avoid such pitfalls and can assist you in responding to any denials.
Ensuring Ongoing Trademark Protection
Registering your trademark is often just the beginning. Ensuring that your brand has the full protection it needs requires carefully crafted strategies. Let our lawyer help you craft and implement a customized plan of action for maintaining and safeguarding your trademarks.
Can You Sue If Someone Steals Your Trademark?
Lawsuits can be an option for addressing trademark infringement. However, given the cost of litigation, it’s important to consider other steps first. These include:
- Sending out a cease-and-desist letter
- Trying to negotiate a settlement
- Seeking an amicable resolution through mediation or other alternative dispute resolution methods
Our lawyer can help you explore all your options for trademark enforcement.
Securing Your Business’s Vital Secrets
Trade secrets are confidential information that can provide your business with a competitive edge. Steps you can take to maintain their secrecy include:
- Forming confidentiality agreements with employees
- Restricting access to sensitive information
- Regularly reviewing and updating your protection measures
Our attorney can help you develop tailored trade secret protection strategies for your business and address any alleged misappropriation of a trade secret that your company may face.
Protect Your Business With An Experienced IP Attorney
Your business’s future success can hinge on the strength of the protections that have been put in place for its trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property. Get the trusted support of a skilled IP lawyer. Call us at 254-313-0841 today or reach us online to discuss how our attorney can help with your IP needs.