Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Finding A Trademark For A Home Business Opportunity Online

By Myles Krueger

One of the most significant steps you can take with a home business opportunity online is to get a trademark approved by the US government that will stand the test of time. One of the best things you can do is protect any names, brands, or ideas that you put down on paper.

To get your trademark set up for your company name you should do so with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. They offer a online form that is called the Trademark Electronic Application System or the TEAS that will allow for you to take care of most of the application online.

Usually this is going to cost around $325 to file the form online, but it will vary based on what you have to accomplish for your trademark. If this is going to be the first time you create intellectual property or a trademark then I suggest that you don't do it yourself and get help. There is a 24 hour customer service number for the USTPO that they provide to help you with the form.

They can only do so much for you because they are not trained to help with business philosophy or branding so I suggest that you find yourself a good lawyer that will actually help you through this whole process to find a branded name that you can trademark that will benefit you and your company. They are great to bounce ideas off of so you can get a general direction on how to approach this process.

Often you can run into a problem with filing these forms because it can take several months for an answer on your approval. You might get declined because it is not a reasonable trademark because it is too general or you might have competition that will be infringed upon.

If you are out of the country you can actually get someone else like a lawyer to represent you in filing the trademark application. Whether you are a US citizen or not it doesn't really matter and you can still turn in the form. You will probably have to get a EIN number if you do not have a citizenship.

With how complicated this can be make sure that you keep your name somewhat arbitrary because you never know how your company may change in the next decade or so and your company name might not end up applying to whatever it is that you are now doing. This will save you a lot of hassle of having to go through this process again and develop a whole new brand.

When you have finished this process take joy in it because you have now staked your claim to intellectual property. This could be the beginning of a wonderful future for your brand not having to worry about legal liabilities.

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