Trademarks are (most commonly) words, logos, and slogans that are used in connection with products or services in order to create a brand.  They are extremely valuable assets to any business, because they help a business to differentiate itself from its competitors, and because consumers associate them with their past experiences with a particular brand.

Copyrights give protection to artistic works such as books, music, movies and television, and artwork.  It is important for artists to be able to protect their creations from copying and plagiarism by others, and copyright law allows them to do this.

Patents give exclusive rights to make, use, and sell inventions for a limited time, in exchange for public disclosure of the invention.

My practice is focused exclusively on trademark and copyright law.  While I am happy to provide you with assistance for your trademark and copyright matters, I am not able to provide you with legal advice in the area of patents.

If you have a business, then you have a trademark that you should consider protecting.  If you are starting a new business, then you should work with a trademark attorney not only to protect your trademark, but to ensure that you aren't putting yourself at risk by infringing upon someone else's trademark.

In most cases, no.  An attorney licensed to practice law in any state can provide you with trademark services under federal law.  That includes representing you at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office should you seek federal registration of your trademark.  The major exception would be in the case of a trademark infringement lawsuit, where you would need an attorney that can practice in the relevant jurisdiction.

While I am licensed to practice in Missouri, a large percentage of my clients are not located there.  The nature of my practice allows me to work with clients over the phone and via email.  I represent clients on both coasts, and many places in between.  I also represent many clients that are outside of the U.S., as well.

The process of trademark registration can vary a lot from client to client, depending on the circumstances.  However, assuming that we do not receive a substantive rejection from the Trademark Office, the cost of registration is generally between $1,000 and $1,500, including government filing fees.

The biggest factors in determining your total cost are: (1) whether we conduct a comprehensive federal trademark search prior to filing an application, (2) whether the results of such a search are favorable, and (3) whether you are already using the trademark in connection with your products/services prior to when we file your trademark application.

For more information about the pricing of particular services that I provide, please review my Pricing page.

At this time, it generally takes around 18 months to obtain a trademark registration.  Of course, this depends on your specific circumstances, particularly whether you are already using your trademark or not.

This may seem like a long time, but the good news is that once you get your registration, your rights date back to the application filing date.  That means that filing early is very important, and not something that you should put off if you can avoid it.