San Diego Corporate Law Attorneys

Our firm provides the necessary services for examining, processing, filing and maintaining documents related to the existence and structure of California domestic corporations and foreign (out of state or country) corporations qualified to transact business in California. We help determine the appropriate entity for our clients, in order to benefit under the California Law and U.S. tax code.

Our firm also provides the formation and maintenance for other business entities, including:

Trademarks

Let us help you design and register your Trademarks and Service Marks.

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.

A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Throughout this booklet, the terms “trademark” and “mark” refer to both trademarks and service marks.

Trademarks, copyrights and patents all differ. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work; a patent protects an invention

You can establish rights in a mark based on legitimate use of the mark. However, owning a federal trademark registration on the Principal Register provides several advantages, e.g.,

constructive notice to the public of the registrant’s claim of ownership of the mark;
a legal presumption of the registrant’s ownership of the mark and the registrant’s exclusive right to use the mark nationwide on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the registration;
the ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court;
the use of the U.S registration as a basis to obtain registration in foreign countries; and
the ability to file the U.S. registration with the U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods.

Any time you claim rights in a mark, you may use the “TM” (trademark) or “SM” (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim, regardless of whether you have filed an application with the USPTO. However, you may use the federal registration symbol “®” only after the USPTO actually registers a mark, and not while an application is pending. Also, you may use the registration symbol with the mark only on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the federal trademark registration.