Starting a t-shirt company and I need Trademark advice

[wtfpugs]

Hi,

My name is Alex and for the past 6 months I've been creating designs for a t-shirt company I plan on launching by the end of the year. I've just completed my final design and want to start promoting my images, using the name I plan to call my company. However, I'm worried that the name may be stolen. I've only secured a .com, which was a minimal 10$ for the year.

I'm hearing different sides as to whether or not my name and designs are covered. I've been told that I'm covered for the designs, because I can prove creativity, however I may not be safe with my company name. It's bad because this company name along with my designs work perfectly together, and it would likely destroy my confidence for the company's success if I had to change the name.

Are there any things that I can do to secure my company name until I come up with the money to trademark and register my company name?

Thank you for any advice,
Alex

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Alex - there are two issues - copyright and trademark. Your designs are covered by copyright law (the creativity component of a "work of authorship" which means you drew your own original stuff) but what about trademark law - is your trade name protected? What does "stolen" mean?

Trademark law involves protection of your business name so people in the marketplace know that this trade name is associated with you, not someone else. You can secure your company name by filing an "intent to use" form with the US Patent and Trademark Office. However, this will cost you money. What you need to do is decide whether your company name is able to be protected, which I'm guessing it might be since generic .com names are virtually all gone. The more unique the name the more likely your company name is to be protected under trademark law.

What you can do in order to protect your name is to do business using this website and the name. Sell some t-shirts to people in another state. If you're first, it doesn't matter if someone takes the .net and tries to steal your company name 6 months later. You can file that you were the first to use the name and be prepared to show proof of sales, locally and interstate.

The cheapest method is to file for a local trademark which will cover your state. Those applications usually cost much less and can provide you with some measure of protection, even though most will usually go with Federal protection (which costs $300-400, at the moment depending upon what you choose.)

Best of luck with your t-shirt business!

 

[voisbornn]

It was really nice to share such an information about the trademark law and its related rules.