# after I register my business - do I need to trademark?



## android (Jul 4, 2007)

Hey guys!

Well I'm pretty new to the whole fashion industry but I took my chances and started making my own clothing. I thought up of a name for my company and went ahead and registered it with the state of california. 

My question is once I register it, do I still have to trademark it so no one else uses my name? 

I also received a letter from a direct competitor that said that I was using their slogan that was trademarked. They said that if I did not take down the design I made, legal action was going to be taken. My question is this if I take out a single word from their supposedly alleged slogan can I re-print those shirts? 

How can I protect myself from this happening in the future? What if I designed something and the person saw it on my site then they trademarked it am I liable? 


So many questions!

Another one is I registered this business as a sole proprietorship but what can I do if a private investor wants to invest in my company? What if I just want one person to invest but take the money sort of like a loan?


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## INKSCREENS (Jan 28, 2008)

*Re: Trouble in little china!*

You can always change the entity of your business. As for the trademarking, you should consult a lawyer. Many here can suggest solutions, but it is not a guarantee to cover you.


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## darryld (Sep 20, 2007)

*Re: Trouble in little china!*

i would simply say that you have no intentions of infringing upon their copyrights and/or trademarks and please provide the trademark or copyright file number and you will look into it. say nothing more than that. then get the number and look it up your self at the uspto website. this is the first step any lawyer is going to take anyway. 

dont get scared because someone says they own the rights. if they do, they usually wont have a problem providing the proof, after all it is public information.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> My question is once I register it, do I still have to trademark it so no one else uses my name?


Trademarking with the official USTPO is generally the only way to protect your brand name so no one else can use it.

Keep in mind that even though you register it, it won't stop people from using it (notice how you inadvertently used someone else's trademark).

Registering it only gives you more legal standing to go after someone if they do happen to use your trademarked name. It's more "after the fact" protection in that it puts the law on your side. It's up to you to police and protect your trademark.



> My question is this if I take out a single word from their supposedly alleged slogan can I re-print those shirts?


Depends on if they want to take further legal action. Someone can always sue you. Whether or not you want to defend it or whether or not you have a case would be up to you and your lawyer 



> How can I protect myself from this happening in the future?


Search the trademark database for your future designs. Search google to see if it's already been done.



> What if I designed something and the person saw it on my site then they trademarked it am I liable?


That's not likely to happen. It's a long process to trademark something. Part of the process is doing searches to prove that the trademark is not already in use by someone else.

But as far as liability, you may want to talk to a lawyer  It's possible that you could be.



> Another one is I registered this business as a sole proprietorship but what can I do if a private investor wants to invest in my company? What if I just want one person to invest but take the money sort of like a loan?


Then you do just as you want to do  

Take the money as a loan and let the person know what you're looking for. Look into getting a contract written up.


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## android (Jul 4, 2007)

Thanks Rodney I guess I am going to trademark my name. If I file for a trademark after a couple of months after I registered my business would I be the owner of the trademark is someone did it a couple of days after I registered it?


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

Registering for a trademark is a process, and you aren't the owner of a trademark until until the process is complete, not when you file it.

So, if someone files for the same mark after you, they will go through the same process. 

Part of the process is finding out if someone else is using that mark, not just filed for registration of the mark.

So if they file for registration, and you've filed for registration the USPTO will find out who has legal rights to the mark. That will entail each of you showing when you first used the mark.


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