The California trademark law firm of trademark attorney Sebastian Gibson is pleased to provide you with the following discussion of Trademark Law.

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols and designs which identify and distinguish one source of goods or services from those of another. A service mark (or servicemark) identifies the source of services as opposed to a trademark which identifies the source of a product.

Trademark rights are obtained from actual use of a mark or from the filing of an application, which can be filed with our law firm's attorneys help, at the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office). An application may be either an intent-to-use application or a use in commerce application (for trademarks and service marks already in use).

In the area of trademark law, our Palm Springs Desert Area trademark law firm and the attorneys and lawyers in San Diego, Orange County and throughout southern California, associated from time to time by the firm for each individual client, take the following steps to protect a client's intellectual property:

The California trademark law firm of trademark attorney R. Sebastian Gibson and through its "Of Counsel" CA attorney can also prepare and file applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for all kinds of intellectual property protection including trademarks and service marks (or servicemarks) to meet your needs and can advise you in a wide range of matters including protection of your trademark, renewal of your trademark and protection against trademark infringement.

Once a trademark application has been filed it is first reviewed by staff attorneys and then by an examiner on behalf of the USPTO in order to determine if the mark must be refused or objected to for being similar to another mark, or for being likely to deceive or mislead the public, or for other reasons. If the

trademark is determined to have objections or issues that need clarification, the examiner will send a letter listing those corrections necessary for the application to be approved. The applicant has six months to respond. If the response is insufficient to resolve those issues, the application will be denied but the trademark applicant may appeal the matter to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, optimally with the help of our law firm's trademark attorneys and lawyers.

If the mark is determined to be acceptable, it is published in the Official Gazette. As long as no opposition is filed against the trademark application and no opposition proceeding is commenced, the trademark will be registered and a certificate of registration will be issued approximately twelve weeks after the mark was initially published. This description of the trademark registration process has been somewhat simplified by our firm's trademark attorneys in order to convey only a general understanding of the process in a limited amount of space on this website.

Our CA trademark law firm represents clients in the Palm Springs Desert Area, Riverside, the Inland Empire, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego,

Orange County, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, the Central Coast, Santa Barbara and all of Southern California, from our law offices in Rancho Mirage, CA. The trademark attorneys and lawyers associated with the law firm can file and prosecute both use-based and intent-to-use trademark and service mark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and under the new provisions of the Madrid Protocol. Palm Springs desert area trademark attorney Sebastian Gibson and the California intellectual property and trademark lawyers we utilize will perform trademark searches and in more complex matters we recommend a more comprehensive search to search for similar trademarks and the use of those trademarks in places, including on the world wide web.

The Palm Springs Desert area and California trademark Law Firm of Sebastian Gibson which represents clients in San Diego, Orange County and elsewhere in Southern California routinely advises trademark clients with respect to such issues as trademark dilution, trade designs, Lanham Act litigation, trademark infringement litigation, cease and desist letters, and assist with intellectual property protection of related copyrights and patents.

Trademark assistance by Sebastian Gibson and other California trademark attorneys, as needed, is provided in creating advertising programs and utilizing brand names that will afford the greatest trademark protection worldwide and, at the same time, lend themselves to creative marketing. Where applicable, coordination is made with patent lawyers and designers of goods and trademark designs.

Trade shows such as San Diego book fairs, consumer electronic shows and Orange County designer shows can also be monitored by our California law firm's trademark lawyers for infringements of clients' intellectual property and trademarks.

Finally, trademark litigation in California state and federal courts by Sebastian Gibson and the Southern California law firm and the CA trademark attorneys and lawyers utilized from other law firms where necessary, is aggressively pursued to protect a client's trademark rights and property and obtain damages or royalties from trademark infringers.

Even before any application is filed with the USPTO, any person who claims rights in a trademark may use the symbol TM (for trademarks) and SM (for service marks) with the words, phrases, symbols or designs

constituting the mark. The registration symbol ®, an R with a circle around it, may only be used once the mark has been registered (not just applied for) with the USPTO.

Once a trademark is granted, the trademark must periodically be renewed and monitored, optimally by our Palm Springs Desert Area trademark law firm. Although the term of a trademark is ten years, it must be renewed within six months prior to the expiration in order to retain the trademark. In addition, a trademark registrant must file an affidavit of continual use after the fifth year and before the sixth year of the date of initial registration.

In the event another party infringes upon the use of your trademark, steps should be taken immediately by calling our Palm Springs desert area CA law firm with offices in Rancho Mirage, California for a trademark attorney to assist you in Riverside, the Inland Empire, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, the Central Coast & Santa Barbara County or elsewhere in Southern California to protect your rights.

For further enforcement of trademarks by our staff attorneys, see:
WORLDWIDE TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT PROTECTION