What Does a Trademark Infringement Lawyer Do?
Trademark infringement lawsuits can be substantial. If they have accused you of this offense, the best strategy is to keep an attorney specializing in trademark law. If you’re a law student or considering a career in law, trademark infringement can be a lucrative and challenging specialization. Whether you’re a business owner or an aspiring attorney, here is everything you need to know about trademark law, what it takes to become a trademark infringement lawyer, and what this type of attorney can do for clients.
What is trademark law?
Mondaq describes trademark law as the practice of providing legal advisement for the attainment of trademarks on goods or services without infringing on other registered trademarks secured by others. They help walk you through the process to ensure that your application for a registered trademark does not infringe on existing trademarks.
This type of lawyer can help you avoid legal problems when sought early before marketing your goods or services. Trademark lawyers also advise clients on remedies when an infringement occurs. The attorneys practicing this specialization may lead you forward in your lawsuit against an infringer or help defend you if they sue you for trademark infringement.
Elements of trademark
You must consider multiple elements of a trademark when protecting intellectual property. They’re tangibles identified visually. It includes names, words and personal names, letters, numerals, designs, symbols, shades of color, the shape of packaging of marketed goods, and any combination of these elements.
Infringement occurs when a logo, name, or other representation for a business or organization comes too close to the registered trademark that protects the intellectual property of someone else’s brand. Some lawsuits over trademark infringement are so ambiguous that the ruling could go either way.
The trademark must be a graphical representation. A skilled trademark infringement attorney can find explanations that either prove infringement or disprove it in less obvious cases. When a trademark is so ambiguous that the alleged offender could not have possibly known that they were entering into a gray area, the odds of dismissal of the lawsuit are higher. Some audio sounds get trademarked, such as jingles.
According to Legal Career Path, any identifier of a company or brand that helps to build the identity of a brand and to sell products and services is viewed as intellectual property. It can be trademarked, copyrighted, or patented. State and federal laws exist to protect them. When they’re registered, these intellectual properties are protected with sole use rights granted to the individual or company that holds the trademark registrations. These rights are protected by strict rules. The Lanham Act of 1946 has protected
Why you might need a trademark infringement lawyer?
KR Internet Law points out that brands are at risk for trademark infringement by counterfeiters as well as those who are new to the business world and unaware of best practices for respecting intellectual properties. Many criminals look for quality brands, and copy them, making cheap imitations that lack the quality but fetch the same price.
Such thievery cuts into the profits of a brand and reduces sales while damaging the reputation of the company. This is the most compelling reason to pursue trademark infringement lawsuits when an individual or company has moved in on your trademarked territory. Companies of all sizes engage in a counterfeit activity. It’s illegal and you can sue them for damages, but they can also sue you if they believe you’ve violated the rules of trademark law.
More reasons for engaging a trademark infringement lawyer
Trademark infringement lawyers focus on the legal issues surrounding trademark law. It is a specialization that requires them to delve deeply into all aspects of the rules and requirements for trademark applications, and for determining if infringement has occurred. They learn how to prove trademark infringement and how to disprove that it has happened in murky situations.
The preservation of the reputation of your brand is a reason you would need to hire a trademark infringement lawyer. If you believe your intellectual property has been used without your express written permission for monetary gain, you have the right to file a lawsuit to stop the offenders and to seek compensation for the damages.
If you’re accused of trademark infringement, your professional reputation is on the line and your brand may also suffer if you’re found guilty whether the infringement was intentional or not.
What exactly does a trademark infringement lawyer do?
A trademark infringement lawyer answers all your questions about trademark infringement with expert advice. They are fully trained in all aspects of the law, and how. According to UpCounsel, this type of attorney protects the rights of any client who holds a trademark for a service or product. An example of a trademark is the Nike swoosh symbol.
These lawyers are fully prepared to interpret the trademark law to ensure your rights are protected from infringement. Your trademark infringement attorney can tell you if an individual or company has used similar marketing content, business, or domain names or is selling counterfeit goods under your trademark. The attorney can tell you if you have grounds to file a lawsuit.
An infringement attorney can let you know if it is worth your time to pursue a case, based on knowledge of the potential for a win, including damages you could receive compared with the legal cost of pursuing a case. In many cases, attorney fee compensation is also awarded as a part of the damages settlement. A trademark infringement lawyer is aware of precedent cases set for trademark infringement lawsuits.
They are aware of various types of cases that have gone to court, and the outcomes of those cases. They stay on top of the latest information as it pertains to the laws about trademarks, and the ways that the laws are interpreted legally. These lawyers know how to help you recover damages when someone crosses the line with your protected intellectual property.
Types of intellectual property cases
Trademark infringement lawyers deal with various kinds of intellectual property cases. In addition to trademark infringement, most also deal with copyright infringement, patent infringement, and online private and online intellectual property infringement. If you’ve secured a patent, copyright, or if you have a domain name in an online business, these are also registrations that protect your intellectual property. If someone uses a domain name on the internet that is similar to yours, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. The same goes for having your products, processes, logos, or content copied. Any protected property that has been trademarked, copyrighted, patented, or otherwise acknowledged as uniquely yours under the law is subject to the laws that govern intellectual property and its uses.
Trademark infringement lawyers offer expert advice for companies at all stages of development
From the inception of a business concept to established companies and brands, trademark infringement lawyers have a lot to offer in terms of helping you navigate the processes for legally acquiring trademarks to protect your intellectual property. They provide expert advice about what type of intellectual property you should trademark and how to avoid getting into trouble with other trademarked companies.
If your brand has been compromised, they know how to proceed to stop infringement and how to recover damages caused to your brand. It’s their job to ensure that you are fully protected and that you receive fair compensation. The laws are not always easy to interpret accurately unless you have the knowledge and expertise with experience in the field. Legal terms can be confusing and it’s the job of the lawyer to examine your case and explain your situation in great detail.
Technology Use
Trademark infringement attorneys use technology to investigate all resources when looking for evidence to support your case. They can present evidence obtained through computer forensics and e-discovery to obtain facts about an otherwise elusive case. They do their fair share of detective work on your behalf. These attorneys are skilled in establishing your case, and in making appeals even if your case has settled and it’s not been in your favor.
Trademark attorneys can also help to track down offenders who are infringing on your intellectual property, on your behalf. Some anonymous criminals are good at hiding from the law, but whenever finance or the internet is involved, there is usually a trail of some type that leads back to them. They can provide you with advice in any situation that pertains to protecting your intellectual property and determine if your case is one of fair use or if actual infringement has been committed, to save you the cost of litigation if you’re likely to lose such a case.
These attorneys can also provide you with advice about how to proceed with your protected property more safely. They know all the strategies for safeguarding against intellectual property theft and misuse.
How to become a trademark infringement lawyer
The first step to becoming a trademark infringement lawyer is to do well in high school, earn a solid GPA and pass the LSAT tests with the highest possible scores. This opens up more opportunities for acceptance to the better-accredited law schools in the country. Be selective in choosing the law school you attend. Not all law schools are accredited, nor do they adequately prepare students to pass the bar exams in their respective states. A good rule of thumb to observe when choosing a school is to ensure that the American Bar Association and other national accrediting agencies fully accredited them.
Other considerations when choosing a law school
Review the best law schools to apply to, and apply to several. The better schools are highly competitive and only accept between 19 to 52 percent of applicants. Compare your status with the admissions requirements to make sure you qualify, as there is an application fee that goes with each non-refundable application.
Choose the best schools for which you are qualified. Look for the best tuition rates, but don’t settle for the least expensive unless you have no other choice. More prestigious institutions increase your chances of being hired by a solid law firm that will pay you a higher salary. Also, check the statistics for each law school. Look for schools with the highest bar exam pass rates for graduates.
You’ll note that some law schools have low pass rates and some years, the American Bar Association reports that zero percent of graduates passed the exam. It’s not worth any expenditure of time and money to attend a school that has a poor track record for graduating students to go on to become practicing attorneys. It’s best to avoid schools that have low ranking in national polls and low pass rates for the bar exam. Look for law schools that feature diverse faculty with low student-to-faculty ratios to ensure you get the attention you need to learn the principles of the law.
Other important considerations are adequate research and study resources such as brick-and-mortar and online libraries. If your goal is to specialize in trademark infringement, choose a school that offers the specialization along with clinics and practical hands-on experience opportunities. The more knowledge you gain in your area of specialization, the better for your clients and your reputation as an attorney.
Final thoughts
Trademark infringement lawyers help individuals and companies to protect their brands from breaches that amount to theft and damage to the reputation of the brand. You will help clients from the concept phase of their ventures throughout all stages of business, to help protect their interests and preserve their uniqueness by defending the integrity of the intellectual property of your clients.
You will help them to navigate their way through the trademark or patent application process, defend them when accused of trademark infringement, and help them to determine if it is necessary to move forward with a lawsuit against infringers. This specialization within the field of law is growing with the increasing need for brands to protect themselves, and it is a profession that is relevant and timely in today’s business world. Large and small businesses benefit from trademark infringement attorney services. It’s a notable and growing profession for aspiring attorneys.
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