Trademark Registration is Important Trademark Monitoring is the Key

Trademark registration in Pakistan. Trademark registration lawyers often get asked the exact same question. Is it necessary to register my trademark? The answer is no, there is no legal requirement that you register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or any other relevant agency anywhere in the world. You can obtain common law trademark rights the moment you start using your brand in commerce.

However, trademark registration gives you the leverage you need to stop third-party trademark infringement. In addition to getting a presumption of trademark validity, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will allow you to sue third parties in bad faith for statutory damages up to $100,000.00 plus attorney's fees. Sending someone a threat letter that notes your trademark registration and potential for statutory damages up to $100,000.00 plus attorney's fees gets their attention. If you are forced to rely on common law trademark rights, you are left to argue lost profits. Good luck showing that any customer used their service, as opposed to yours, as a result of trademark issues. Moreover, trademark registration tells the third-party infringer that you have been serious about protecting your trademark rights. The difference between receiving a trademark infringement threat letter citing common law rights and receiving the same letter referencing USPTO registration is significant.

Once you achieve Trademark Registration, you then need to protect your trademark in commerce. The internet is a particularly important place to protect your trademark. This means that you need to monitor third-party uses of your literal mark, as well as variations of your trademark, in order to make sure that you remain aware of third-party uses. If they're just starting out, it is much easier to get someone who uses a similar word to your trademark than someone who has already invested huge amounts of money and time into their website, branding, and related marketing efforts.

Trademark registration is one of the most important things you can do to protect your brand. The importance of trademark monitoring cannot be overstated. Many courts have held that if you do not protect your trademark from infringement, you waive the right to claim exclusive use of that mark in commerce. In addition to helping you navigate the trademark registration process, a trademark registration attorney can monitor your trademarks for potential infringements.