# Trademark vs LLC vs Copy right



## ThatGuyWhoPrints (Jul 11, 2012)

say I have my LLC for my screen printing business and i want to launch multiple clothing lines on the side to sell online. can/should i trademark my clothing line brand/logo/name? i know its a complete waste of time copyrighting my designs but can I at least keep my clothing line names/logos/brands safe?

if so should i just Trademark them or how does this work. it wouldn't make sense to get an LLC for the clothing lines. ive looked online but had no luck..


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## missswissinc (Feb 21, 2012)

I don't see why not. if you look I think its the MLB logo I think in the one corner its has the TM logo on it. granted I had a look but sometimes they have it there and other times not. But either way once it has that TM to it its a trade mark and that is what that company says is their logo for whatever they use it for. question for you though. the name that your looking to do have you checked to make sure its not already taken. Don't want you to go through a hoop and find out oh the name is already registered or copyrighted someplace else.


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

ThatGuyWhoPrints said:


> say I have my LLC for my screen printing business and i want to launch multiple clothing lines on the side to sell online. can/should i trademark my clothing line brand/logo/name? i know its a complete waste of time copyrighting my designs but can I at least keep my clothing line names/logos/brands safe?
> 
> if so should i just Trademark them or how does this work. it wouldn't make sense to get an LLC for the clothing lines. ive looked online but had no luck..


You don't need to register an LLC for the clothing brands. They can operate under the one LLC that you have for the screen printing business.

If you can afford to register the trademarks without sacrificing the funds you need for production and marketing, then it's a good idea.

To register a trademark, you can file an application at United States Patent and Trademark Office.


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

missswissinc said:


> if you look I think its the MLB logo I think in the one corner its has the TM logo on it. granted I had a look but sometimes they have it there and other times not. But either way once it has that TM to it its a trade mark and that is what that company says is their logo for whatever they use it for.


The use of the ™ symbol is simply a public claim to the ownership of a mark. It holds no actual legal value and it is not indicative of a mark being federally registered as a trademark or that an application has even been filed. Anyone can use the ™ symbol at any time.

When a mark is federally registered as a trademark, the ® symbol can be used.


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## 20vK (Jul 9, 2011)

Yup - my screen printing company is incorporated. We take orders from anyone.

I also have a surfwear brand which my company prints. I actually ended up registering the trademark for the brand name and also the logo to myself, and then licensed my company to use it, since where I live, you have to have a local business partner who owns 60% of any company (crazy but true). I wasn't about to hand over 60% of my brand for free!

So what I've done is to protect my interests in the brand. Now if you own the company 100%, as is the case in almost every other country, you could just as easily register the trademarks to your company. Big multinational corporations release loads of different brand names- sprite, coca-cola, etc!

Richie


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## Viper Graphics (Mar 28, 2009)

For your reading pleasure, this may either help or totally confuse......... 
Trademark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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