Does anyone here know anything about business trademarks, or logos that have been trademarked, and what the rules are regarding them? By this I mean, if you come up with an idea for a cool logo that you want to trademark, and after you spent a lot of time creating it, making it look cool, you find a site that has a similar logo/trademark to yours, but theirs is already trademarked, and yours isn't. Can you still trademark your logo without legal problems if it's got some similar characteristics to the other one, but not exactly the same? Also, if in their logo they used the two keywords that make up their domain name does that mean no one else can use those keywords in a domain name? I would think you can't trademark keywords, but don't know for sure, and my logo has the same keywords as this other one has except for I have 3 keywords, and a number, not just 2 keywords. An example without giving away my logo idea would be their logo saying below the design tiles 2 ceramic, and mine saying from tiles 2 ceramic. Their design would be a big TC and maybe a picture of what a tile looks like with their two keywords beneath, and the 2 between them. My design would be like FT2C then a picture of a tile, not the same tile, and different colors, and From Tile 2 Ceramic beneath the letters above. Also, my letters are in one big box split into 4 smaller boxes. One letter in each box, and each box has it's own color. It appears to me I have nothing to worry about as my design is totally different, but the domain name they used is only one word short of what mine is so thought I'd ask here to see what everyone thinks. Also would like to know if anyone here has ever gone through the trademark process, and if so could tell me how much it cost, and how hard it is to do. Wouldn't want to put my logo out there without it being trademarked, and someone come along and steal it. LoL.... Thanks, Entrepreneur45
My best recommendation is to check the uspto.gov website, it's best to check there and do your own research versus having someone give you information that may or may not be correct.
Here's more info: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_infringement
A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or design, or any combination used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name. A service mark is any word, name, symbol, design, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce, to identify and distinguish the services of one provider from the services provided by others, and to indicate the source of the services.