State trademarks offer trademark protection within a single, given state. A local business, not looking to expand outside the state in which they are located, might want to consider a state trademark to protect their unique name or slogan. It should be noted, however, that state trademark protection and federal trademark protection differ substantially but that having one can effect the other in a variety of ways.
State trademarks give you the following protection:
You may be able stop common law usage of your trademark within the state (common law means that no formal trademark filing covers the usage of the trademark—but that rights exist none-the-less). You may be able to stop a federal trademark user from expanding into your state and using your trademark
State trademarks have several disadvantages though:
You may encounter opposition if you want to expand your services within the state (by a federal trademark owner wanting to curb the growth and use of your state trademark)
You have no protection and possibly no rights if you want to do business outside the state
You may have no protection if you try to establish an Internet presence
You may be forced to curtail physical and/or Internet expansion by a federal trademark holder, or different state trademark holders
The above, like all legal issues, are not black and white and will depend on facts such as date of first use of the trademark (by both sides), consumer market covered, how products are sold and marketed, etc.In general, if another person or business gets a federal trademark, they cannot stop you from using your pre-existing state trademark. They might, however, be able to stop you from expanding within your state any further, and probably from moving outside the state and over the Internet.
Do I Have To Search My Name for a State Trademark ?
We recommend you do a full availability search, on a federal level, to get an appropriate and useful idea of what is already out there (remember, any federal registered trademark holders can take you to court to try to keep you from using the trademark, even if the state grants you a state trademark registration.)
Search Federal – $195 per mark
- Covers all Class Codes
- Returned back by e-mail in 4-6 working days
- Full availability search on:
- Federal Registered & Federal Pending Trademarks
- 50 State Databases & State Trademarks
- Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands Databases
How Do I Apply for A State Trademark ?
Most states are now on-line and you can prepare your state application for free, rather than paying us to do it for you. But, we are the experts and do this all day everyday. How much is your time worth ? $198 is our price for what could take you hours and you’ll probably only ever do once.
There are some general rules that apply to all trademark filings:
– The filing fee is non-refundable if the TM office finds something similar already exists
- The trademark application filing is based on class codes, and fees are per class code
If you are not comfortable preparing the application yourself, we can prepare it on your behalf for only $250.00 per mark, plus the state filing fee below per class code.
State trademarks give you the following protection:
You may be able stop common law usage of your trademark within the state (common law means that no formal trademark filing covers the usage of the trademark—but that rights exist none-the-less). You may be able to stop a federal trademark user from expanding into your state and using your trademark
State trademarks have several disadvantages though:
You may encounter opposition if you want to expand your services within the state (by a federal trademark owner wanting to curb the growth and use of your state trademark)
You have no protection and possibly no rights if you want to do business outside the state
You may have no protection if you try to establish an Internet presence
You may be forced to curtail physical and/or Internet expansion by a federal trademark holder, or different state trademark holders
The above, like all legal issues, are not black and white and will depend on facts such as date of first use of the trademark (by both sides), consumer market covered, how products are sold and marketed, etc.In general, if another person or business gets a federal trademark, they cannot stop you from using your pre-existing state trademark. They might, however, be able to stop you from expanding within your state any further, and probably from moving outside the state and over the Internet.
Do I Have To Search My Name for a State Trademark ?
We recommend you do a full availability search, on a federal level, to get an appropriate and useful idea of what is already out there (remember, any federal registered trademark holders can take you to court to try to keep you from using the trademark, even if the state grants you a state trademark registration.)
Search Federal – $195 per mark
- Covers all Class Codes
- Returned back by e-mail in 4-6 working days
- Full availability search on:
- Federal Registered & Federal Pending Trademarks
- 50 State Databases & State Trademarks
- Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands Databases
How Do I Apply for A State Trademark ?
Most states are now on-line and you can prepare your state application for free, rather than paying us to do it for you. But, we are the experts and do this all day everyday. How much is your time worth ? $198 is our price for what could take you hours and you’ll probably only ever do once.
There are some general rules that apply to all trademark filings:
– The filing fee is non-refundable if the TM office finds something similar already exists
- The trademark application filing is based on class codes, and fees are per class code
If you are not comfortable preparing the application yourself, we can prepare it on your behalf for only $250.00 per mark, plus the state filing fee below per class code.