# Trademarking question help plz?



## godschild (Sep 20, 2014)

I'm changing the name of my soap business and trying to trademark my new name. On the trademark fees page, there are 3 different categories of fees listed. There's Fees, Small Entity Fees, and Micro Entity Fees. If I am the sole proprietor and my business is just starting out, which one do I fall under? This is a big bunch of mess just to have my name/products not be stolen and used. Please help if you know the answer to which one I would fall under.

Nevermind, I was wrong. That's if I was filing for a patent, not a tm. For a trademark, it's $375 just for one fee! That's ridiculous to have to pay, not including all the other fees that have listed on there just to keep your name/products secure! There isn't a way around having to give your right arm to get this done? Help!


----------



## shunt2011 (Sep 20, 2014)

I don't think you need to trademark your name.  You just need to register as a DBA and that protects your name.  My county clerk did a search to make sure it was available and not being used.  Now, I'm not 100% sure but I was told nobody else could use it as long a I re-register it before it expires which I believe was 3 years..


----------



## goji_fries (Sep 20, 2014)

Hey godschild, I may have someone who can help with that. pm>


----------



## Nevada (Sep 20, 2014)

If someone was to steal your trademark would you be willing to spend $1,000's to defend it?
Just asking


----------



## godschild (Sep 20, 2014)

Thanks goji_fries.  I would appreciate any help you would offer.  Nevada, if my business was to be jacked, I would defend it to the best of my abilities.  I am working hard on this and want to succeed.  I've been through a lot in my life and had everything taken from me many times.  I don't want it to happen again because I wasn't thorough.


----------



## The Efficacious Gentleman (Sep 21, 2014)

You also need to make sure that you CAN trademark it - if it is too generic or too similar to something else already registered, then you might struggle to get them to sign it off.


----------



## godschild (Sep 21, 2014)

That was my issue with choosing a new name with "Southern" in the title TEG.  There are many people that have that in their name that I was afraid they wouldn't sign off on it.  I'm calling them Monday to ask about the name I've decided on.  The name I have already has "Fried" in it because it sounded neat and rolled off the tongue smoothly.  Also, I know you've heard the saying "Southern Fried."   People asked me if my soap was fried or not so I wanted to change it from what it is.  I already have bus cards made up, labels, my gov tax id, etc under that name so I will have to change all that too.  Oh well.  That's no big deal.  It just sucks that they charge so much to get a tm.  I've checked around on the sites that the SBA says to check and also the tm office and the name I picked hasn't been used yet as far as I can find.  Now to just see when I call them if they can possibly give me a guesstimate on if they think it will pass.  Thanks for thinking about that and replying!


----------



## Earthen_Step (Sep 21, 2014)

If someone were to try and take your name + logo and start a business.  You could have them stop if you can show that you came up with it before them.


----------



## wetshavingproducts (Sep 22, 2014)

Nevada said:


> If someone was to steal your trademark would you be willing to spend $1,000's to defend it?
> Just asking



It wouldn't matter if it's registered or not, the TM would need to be defended in either case.

Registering offers two major advantages: 1) presumption of ownership, and 2) the ability to sue in federal courts under the criminal laws. Registration may offer more punitive damages as well.

Even if you don't register your TM, you can still sue in state courts or federal courts if it falls under diversity jurisdiction. However, you're suing under the civil laws.

So, it's a cost/benefit analysis for OP. Are you likely to need the two protections or do you think no one's going to mess with your trademark. If the latter, and you aren't big enough, it's probably better to save the money.

I can't advise you on the specific dollar amount per year that it would make sense, but it's something to think about.


----------



## Jaccart789 (Sep 22, 2014)

Nevada said:


> If someone was to steal your trademark would you be willing to spend $1,000's to defend it?
> Just asking



Sometimes just sending a "cease and desist letter" is enough for someone to stop using it. I would be willing to spend it and more if it was my business; I would make their life hell, maybe not if it was just a hobby.


----------



## Jaccart789 (Sep 22, 2014)

If you become like BBW or Lush then you better have TM, but selling at a Farmers Market Im not sure I would bother. I guess it depends on how main stream you plan to become or how far you want to take your business. I think that is how I would decide.


----------



## Susie (Sep 22, 2014)

godschild- I think this is one of those situations where I would act with an overabundance of caution.  Like buying insurance, it might never be needed, but better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.


----------



## wetshavingproducts (Sep 24, 2014)

Another option if you're only selling locally is to register in your state. Probably cheaper and all you really need since you might not have TM protection nationwide if you can't prove you've been selling nationally.


----------



## OliveOil2 (Sep 27, 2014)

(My quote option doesn't work) but exactly what Shunt2011 said. I had a previous non soap business in California, and it was very simple and inexpensive. There was a requirement to file a DBA notice, and a small filing fee. I am sure every state is different, but if you are only talking about the name of your company that should be all you need.


----------



## carvan (Sep 30, 2014)

another inexpensive thing you should consider is buying the domain name for your business. It would be pretty hard for person who attempts to steal your name without having the ability to own the .com on it. Their survival rate would be short lived and they would have almost no ability to grow the company without that domain name (web address).


----------



## katsntx (Sep 30, 2014)

And don't forget to buy the .net and the .org along with the .com.


----------



## godschild (Sep 30, 2014)

Thanks to all.  I will do all of these things that yall mentioned that I can and as soon as I can, I'll trademark my most popular ones.  That will be a start and I can try to tm as I get more money in the future if all goes well.  I have the state and fed because I have my tax ID etc so I'm goon on that and will but internet domains asap!  I'm so happy to have yall to come to and learn from.  I just can't say how thankful I am enough times, yall just don't know


----------

