Congratulations! You have successfully secured your trademark rights and your brand now has the full weight of the USPTO behind it to protect against infringement. However, the work doesn’t stop there! Your next steps include using your new investment to help grow your business and protecting your mark to ensure it remains valid by doing the following:

1. Using the ®️ symbol instead of the ™ symbol 

   Once your trademark is registered, you are allowed to stop using the TM (™) or SM (℠) symbols and switch to the circled R (®). While the first two symbols put the public on notice that you have a claim over the trademark, the ® demonstrates possession of a federal registration to back up that claim.

   Using the circled R symbol with your trademark is a privilege and is exclusively reserved for trademarks that have been applied for and registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Using ® with a mark that does not have registration is actually a violation of federal law and can be used as grounds to deny a trademark application due to inappropriate use of the symbol.

   Prior to registration, the only symbols permitted for use are ™ and ℠. These symbols are appropriately used before or during the application process to indicate ownership of a mark. The small capital TM stands for trademark and is used to represent physical goods, such as clothes, sunglasses, or food items. SM means service mark and is used to represent offerings such as legal, business, or financial services. However, using the TM in connection with services will not affect your ability to obtain federal trademarks in your brand.

2. Monitoring to Prevent Potential Infringement

   One of the most important functions that a trademark owner must perform is policing the use of your mark by potential infringers. While your registration and usage of the ® symbol can be major deterrents for potential infringers, it is still very important to ensure that another party is not undermining your rights by using your trademark without your permission. This includes policing for direct, purposeful infringements, such as usage of marks that may be confusingly similar to yours, and people who may be infringing on your rights accidentally. 

   Trademark law requires owners to police the marketplace to eliminate the threat of infringement and therefore integrates trademark protection into mark ownership. If an outside party is able to maintain unauthorized use of a mark for an extended period of time, that can ultimately result in a loss of trademark rights for the registered owner due to their lack of vigilance. If someone else would utilize your trademark in an unauthorized manner without your notice, they could actually use your neglect in protecting the mark as a defense against any legal enforcement action brought against them (i.e. Taco Tuesday Trademark Lawsuit). By policing your mark, you are ensuring that your trademark rights remain as strong as possible.

   The best practice for trademark policing is safeguarding your property by preventing problems prior to their occurrence. Setting up a Google alert for brands or businesses using your mark or one similar, taking advantage of the USPTO’s online database, and using a professional monitoring service are just a few ways that are both accessible and effective. Above all, however, enlisting the help of a trademark lawyer is the most efficient way to confirm that no one else is encroaching on your trademark rights, and our firm offers a flat annual fee for our trademark monitoring service. This package includes searches generated by industry-leading search software, quarterly reports, and personalized analysis of potential threats to your business.

3. Complying with the Renewal Requirements

   Another key element of trademark protection is ensuring timely renewal filings. The very first renewal due for your trademark post-registration will be due five years from the original registration date. The second renewal is due ten years from the original registration date, and every ten years thereafter. Each renewal due date is followed by a year-long window in which the filing can be made; once that window closes, however, the trademark will fall into a grace period and will be at risk of abandonment. Maintaining the renewal schedule is the responsibility of the trademark owner and is an essential part of mark protection following registration. Getting the assistance of a trademark lawyer is the most effective way to guarantee that no renewal windows are missed, the trademark has adequate use in the marketplace, and filings are drafted correctly.

   You can read more about the USPTO’s renewal requirements in our blog post here.