Trademark Monitoring

Trademark Monitoring

Registering a trademark is only the first step as a trademark owner. Once the registration is completed, you have to keep on top of how your mark is used and who is using it if you want to keep your registration status.

Trademark registration gives the mark’s owner what essentially amounts to a monopoly over using that mark in commerce for a particular class of products or services. As a result, in order to preserve those rights, the federal government requires you to police your marks to make sure they are not being used in ways that may constitute trademark infringement or dilute your trademark. If you fail to properly police your mark, you will lose all of the rights that come with being a registered trademark holder.

And while it may seem like a pretty neat if your trademark became part of common vocabulary, like aspirin, laundromat, or zipper, you want to preserve your rights as a trademark holder for as long as possible.