If you are considering filing a trademark to protect your brand, there are two paths you can take to accomplish this goal.
The present use path or the future use path.
About the Present Use Path:
The present use path is perfect if you are already advertising your product, program, or service, and have also made sales across state lines. This is also a great path if you want to protect your product or web series and have already launched to your audience.
For example, if you have an e-commerce store and you’ve sold merchandise or digital downloads to at least one person outside of your state, this is the path for you.
Now, present use is not appropriate if your product, program, or service is still in the ideation phase.
About the Future Use Path:
Brand name, taglines, and logos for future businesses you want to launch, books you want to eventually write, or even services you want to provide in the future will travel down the future use path.
Unlike present, future use is all about protecting where your business is going, not where you’re currently at.
About 50% of The Creator’s Law Firm clients file future use trademark applications.
Now it’s important to note that after filing your future use trademark application, it will be your responsibility, not ours, to launch your offerings and make sales of your products or services to ensure it will have the best evidence to share with the trademark office.
This does require additional documentation, and in some cases, fees to be filed with a trademark office after your initial application is filed.
Get The Support You Deserve
What did we learn from this blog? That there are two common roads to registering your trademark depending on what you have or haven’t done to bring your dreams to fruition.
No matter which path you choose, you have to show the trademark office proof that you’ve launched your podcast, product, program, or service before you can receive your trademark certificate.
Oh, and it’s super common to file a future use trademark to protect your brand. (About 50% of our clients filed as future use (i.e., intent-to-use) applications).
