If you are a product based business, you know the importance protecting your brands with trademark registration. Trademarks are the unique sign and symbols that customers see and come to know that this product belongs to this brand. Thus, to avoid anyone else from using your trademark you need to file trademark application form with trademark office. The trademark office then, studies your application and provides trademark registration to you.
However, the trademark application form you will be filing must be free from all the errors. If it is error prone, your will face office action. Thus, to avoid the rejection you can have look into successful similar trademark prosecution cases in past. It will give you an idea to how to obtain the trademarks you desire. This article will tell everything about it.
Also read: Filing trademark application: confusions to avoid
What is prosecution of trademark application form?
Prosecution searches are certainly of great help. But before we understand more about it you must also know what does trademark prosecution means. So, trademark prosecution starts right at the time you file the trademark application form with patent office.
Thus, it is a two way interaction between the applicant (you) and the trademark office (examiner) to obtain the trademark. It starts with examination of your application by the examiner to check, does the application meets eligibility criteria or not.
In case it doesn’t meet the criteria, you receive an office action from examiner. It includes the errors and issues in application responsible for office action. Hence you need to draft a response for it, in the given time frame by the trademark office. This process keeps going till your application becomes error free and you finally receive registered trademark.
Also read: Trademark Application Process: Important aspects
Right Time for Searching Trademark Prosecution Cases
In case a mark application is rejected by the examiner, the applicant must look for ways to support his/her proposed mark before discarding it. One effective way of doing this is by searching for previous trademark prosecution cases that are similar to his/her prosecution case. This is because such cases can provide evidence to back the proposed marks.
Also read: Patent application for everything you need to know
Benefits of prosecution search in trademark application form filing
1. Make Informed Decisions – Performing trademark prosecution searches not only help you in deciding whether to respond to the examiner’s objection but also whether you need to challenge that objection at the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). After conducting the searches, you can prepare a report to present your case for defending your trademark in front of the IPAB judge.
2. Accelerate the Trademark Grant Process – This search can also help you in speeding up the trademark prosecution by getting your point across quickly. To help you understand this better, here’s an example. A trademark attorney (representing a client) received a final objection on the proposed trademark from the examiner. He, however, was not satisfied with the examiner’s decision and decided to take his case to a higher authority. For doing this, he first conducted trademark prosecution searches and prepared a report citing a similar trademark registered under the same class of goods & services. He then submitted his arguments and report to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The judge reviewed the provided information and granted the proposed mark, thereby enabling the attorney to save his client’s efforts.
3. Overcome the Trademark Examiner’s Objections – After filing a mark application with the trademark office, an applicant often receives objections that requires him/her to present his/her arguments for securing a mark. In case the examiner is unconvinced by these arguments, then the applicant can appeal his/her case to the IPAB by submitting evidence from past prosecution cases supporting the arguments. In essence, conducting these searches will help you overcome the examiner’s objections in the court while also increasing the chances of getting a registered trademark.
Also read: IP Paralegal for patentability search
Trademark prosecution search: Finding the right partner for it
Trademarks are the important entity to raise your brand in the market. But as you have seen the process to get them is equally complex and difficult. Thus, you should seek professional IP paralegal experts to help you in prosecution search of trademark application form. The best choice will be “Patent Paralegal Force”
We work with professionals having expertise and experience in trademark filing from over a decade. Hiring us you get easy and cost effective services. You will get timely notifications during every step of trademark filing process. Read our all our services to know more about us.
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