My partner and I created a clothing company a few years ago but decided to bring on another person in mid March of 2012. It was the old "this is a friend" situation between my partner and him so stupidly, there was no paperwork. The new member did not work out due to his illegal activities we found out about, so we had to let him go. This was just before we were ready to file trademarks and the LLC. We just found out ( while we were filling) that our ex partner has claimed the LLC for the company and we suspect he's filed for the trademark but we can't see if it's pending. I am the designer and copyright owner of the logo, company font and all shirt designs. I informed him when he was let go that he no longer had my permission to print, use or display my work on his page. He never removed it and I had to have Facebook do it for me. What are my rights should we find that he used my logo for his trademark and continues to produce and sell my artwork on t-shirts? And with us owning the store sites, a paper trail proving that this is originally our company and him agreeing to disassociate himself with it, what are our options for obtaining the LLC and trademark from him?
Of course, check with a trademark attorney first--I am not one. However, I would recommend checking uspto.gov to see if anyone has registered it. My understanding is that if he has and it is still pending, you can hire a trademark attorney to raise an objection. It is likely that it could be still pending, as it can take a while before it is officially published and registered. I hope this helps.
Hi, If he has registered for Trademark , then you can check his application status here at the link http://ipindiaservices.gov.in/eregister/eregister.aspx The only satisfactory point with your concern in trademark is that it will take minimum 2 - 3 yrs for the trademark to be registered under anyone's name & during the process registry will publish the info in leading journals & trademark magazines , so if your ex-partner's application is published , immediately object & you can take it trial with help of an attorney. Hope this helps