What It's Like to Get Your Trademark Registered as the Client

Tune in for a candid conversation about the trademark process with one of my clients, Cheryl Furer. Cheryl just successfully registered her logo and business name as trademarks! Here's what that was really like for her.

Key Takeaways

• Your business name and logo need to be registered separately. Getting trademark protection for your logo is optional, but it's a good idea if you really love the design and will use it for at least a few years
• You don't know what you don't know, especially when it comes to the trademark application process. Having a professional to guide you through the process makes it so much easier and ensures you won't miss vital steps along the way
• Registering your trademark is a huge boost to the legitimacy of your business as well as your confidence

Resources Mentioned

• Learn more about trademark registration services
  
• Follow Amy on Instagram @artfulcontracts

Next Steps

Thank you so much for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please reach out and let me know by sending me a DM on Instagram @artfulcontracts

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Episode Transcript

Hello, hello. I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving and ate too much pie and had so much time with all the people that you love. Now we are getting back into it. So this week's episode is gonna be a little bit different. I am going to play for you a recording of an interview that I did with a client just about a year ago.

So this is one of my trademark clients. We registered a trademark for her logo and her business name. And I wanted to go back to it now because I think it's really valuable to see what the trademark process looks like from the client perspective. And she actually just got approved for both of her trademarks, her logo and her business name. So that is super exciting. But you can see where we were a year ago versus now, and that's the amount of time that it takes. So I hope this is really valuable for you. And if you decide that you're ready to register a trademark for your brand, I would love to talk with you about it. So head over to artfulcontracts.com/trademarks and we can set up a call and get started.

Hey, I'm Amy Nesheim, licensed attorney for online business owners and founder of my own business, Artful Contracts. You're listening to Legal Made Easy, the show that makes the legal aspects of online business easy to understand and implement so you can grow your business with confidence knowing you've got it all covered. Let's dive in.

Hi everybody, I am here with one of my trademark clients to give you a better idea of what the trademark process looks like from a client perspective. So if you don't know me, I'm Amy Nessheim. I'm a lawyer for online entrepreneurs, and one of the services that I offer is trademark registration. And that's the process of taking one of your branding items, your logo, your course name, your business name, and registering it federally with the US Patent and Trademark Office. And that basically puts everyone else on notice that you own the brand and no one else can use that name.

So I'm here with Cheryl today. Why don't you uh go ahead and introduce yourself? First of all, thank you so much for doing this. It's very helpful for me and for everyone watching. Uh so go ahead and introduce yourself, your business, what stage of business you're in, and what you do.

Cheryl:

Hi, Amy. My name is Cheryl Fidare, as you said already. Um I'm the owner and founder of Your Thriving Pregnancy. We are an online pregnancy resource bringing a little touch of midwifery into pregnancy and uh postpartum. I'm at the stage of business where I have built my product. I am um starting to launch it. I've launched some small um products already, some small services. And I know that once I go all in on getting this into pregnant women's hands, that it is gonna go gangbusters. And so that's part of the reason I started my process with you, Amy, is because as a pregnancy brand, I know that women are needing the services that we're offering. And as soon as I like release it out into the world, it's just gonna go gangbusters.

Amy:
Well, that kind of answers my next question, which is why you decided to do it now. Because a lot of people wait until they're much more maybe established or they're five years down the road or something to do this. And so what's your thought process behind that?

Cheryl:

Yeah, well, my thought process is because um there are a lot of brands out there that advertise to pregnant women and people, and um they don't necessarily have a pregnancy brand. Like, for example, I was looking at some Facebook ads the other day, and they were like some giraffe brand. And I was like, who are you? What are you doing? Um, why are you talking to pregnant people? Like, what are you offering? But um the the way that I look at it is that when we have something that we know is really special with our product and our branding, that other people, you know, they're they're gonna be wanting to imitate or copy or um do something similar.

And you know, I guess um what is that quote? Imitation is the best form of flattery, but not when it comes to business. I'm not interested in somebody taking the year plus two years really of hard work that I've been putting into creating this brand and just claiming it on as their own. Like that is that would not feel good to me, all the time and effort that I've taken to put to bring this to the world.

Amy:
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. So you decided to trademark both your business name and your logo. And so some people don't realize you have to do those separately. You can protect the words or you can protect the image, the presentation of the words, um, but you have to do it separately. So that's two separate trademark applications. So you could have just started with the words. So why did you decide to do both of those things?

Cheryl:
Well, I worked really closely with a branding expert. And in that process, we came up with a logo and brand that really feels legendary, like it it will be something that we can continue forward with for a long time. And so that's why I wanted to go ahead and trademark both of them at the same time. Um, also just for my own um sanity as a business owner, um, being being able to protect both the name and the logo and make sure that both of them can be used in our business freely without the fear or worry that somebody else could start claiming it as theirs, as especially as we start building my this business. Um that's that's why we went ahead and trademarked both at the same time.

Amy:
Yeah, that makes sense. So, we for anyone who doesn't know, the trademark process can take over a year. And Cheryl and I started working together in July, I think, uh and filed way back then. So that was more than six months ago, and we are still waiting on hearing back from the trademark office. So could you just tell us? So we're not through all the way, but could you tell us what the process has been like for you up to this point?

Cheryl:
Wow. You know, it's so great because the way that you take the trademark process, you really just take it off of my plate so that I just have full trust that it is being handled. And even though, like, I, you know, intellectually know it's not done, in my mind, like you have it completely held so that I don't have to be worried about it. I'm not checking in on it. Like I know that it's working in the background. Um, any communication that's happening is coming through you. Um, and so you know, the beginning process was awesome because um we met, you got a good idea of my business, you um really understood what I was looking for. And then you went out and did the research, which was great.

Because I don't think people understand that there are like so many logos and um designs out there and also words that could be very similar to the brand that you're creating. Um, and so I do have to say that it was a little scary because I had already put so much work into creating the brand and logo, but it was also very reassuring to, you know, be able to have you go out and do a thorough review of all of the different images and the different wording that could potentially, you know, cause issues or potentially be in conflict, and then you know, give me your advice.

And then we went back and um moved forward with the process. Um, and so being able to again have somebody who is very experienced and trustworthy in creating the uh trademark process just it took so much pressure off of me. Um, and there's one other thing that I I don't know if people think about this kind of stuff, but you said, okay, we've submitted the applications, that's all done. Um and you were like, if you get this mail in in your mailbox from these uh companies, you know, just ignore them. They're just you know trying to um, it's almost like a phishing scam, like they're just trying to get money from you to whatever.

And I did get that mail, and I even I because I'm I opened my mail. I don't know if everyone does, but I opened my mail and I looked at it and I was like, I think this is what Amy was telling me about. I think I even wrote you and was like, I got these letters. Is this something I should that you need to know about, or is this just a scam? And you're like, it's a scam, pitch it, it's great.

And so again, like the trade the trademark offices, whoever they are, they could send me stuff for real, but I could just ask you, is this something real that I need to do like send over to you or pay attention to? Or is it something that I can just put in the recycling bin? Like again, just like being able to release that out of my like paper pile, out of my to-do list has been so freeing, honestly.

Amy:
Yeah, I I'm glad you brought that up because it is so common. So with people who file their own trademarks, there there are these companies that like everything you when you file a trademark, it's all public record. Anyone can go look up an application or a registered mark and it has your email address and it has your mailing address. And so these companies can just reach out and say, Oh, there's this extra fee that you owe, or oh, let us take over. And you don't know if it's actually, you know, legit or not. And um, I think a lot of people actually fall for that when they don't have the guidance of a lawyer being able to say, yes, this is actually from the government, or no, this is a scam. And just having that confidence to know, like, okay, this isn't hanging over my head. I think it's really comforting. And then you don't fall into these traps.

Cheryl:
Precisely. Yeah. It was just being able to just say, like, thank you, Amy, like I am going to just get that out of my out of my hair.

Amy:
Yeah, that's great. So for anyone who's on the fence about registering and trademark, is there anything else that you think that they should know?

Cheryl:
I think that they should know that they need to go with somebody they trust. I  understand that there are processes that we can file online. I mean, I am a do-it-yourselfer. I have filed my own um LLC and my doing business as. And um I've done that for two different companies. Like I get it. I'm a do-it-yourselfer. And there are processes that are really helpful to have support in. Um and I just believe trademark is one of them.

It's it's one of those processes. It requires research, it requires the proper filing. It's kind of like working with insurance on some level, which is part of my field. Um that I give to somebody else who can speak the insurance language. Like there are languages out there in the government or in insurance or in other companies that like the lay person can learn, but are they gonna do it well? Are they gonna do it properly? Um, are they gonna say too much? Are they gonna say too little?

Like all of those things could mean that you, you know, the 30 plus hours that it took you to learn the process, to do the research, and then it could all get rejected because it wasn't filed properly or it wasn't done. Maybe you said too much, or maybe you said too little. Like I'm just like, no, I'm not doing that.

Amy:
Yep. Yeah, I think that's a really great point because I tell people all the time, you can file your own LLC. Like it is pretty straightforward. That's something you can do. You can file your own trade name. And you know, the government sites are great for just doing it yourself. But the trademark process is complicated and long, and there are lots of steps involved and nuances that if you don't know about them, and why would you, then you're gonna get tripped up. And even a lot of times, if you, you know, you get through the filing the application, there is a review aspect.

So an attorney from the federal government reviews the application and they have very strict requirements. And sometimes, I mean, a lot of times when people file themselves, they get to that point and they don't know that they can just respond and tweak this one little thing and then it goes through and they just they give up and they end up not having it registered when it could have just been a really quick fix because there are a lot of little tiny things that are a quick fix, but if you don't know that you can fix them, uh then you just give up, right?

And then there's on the opposite side, there are some things that you can't fix, and you have to scrap it all and start over and start over the entire year-long process. So those are the reasons that having guidance, like you said, is really important for this process in particular. Like there are lots of things you can do yourself, but trademarking is just not one of them.

Cheryl:
I a hundred percent agree. And so I'm really, really grateful that I found you and that you um, I mean, I think it's reasonable. I think it's totally worth investing in myself and investing in this this brand in this company that um is taking off. It's starting to take flight. And um, you know, again, just being able to trust, trust you, Amy, and just give you the process and let you, you know, manage those details.

Um, you know, we don't know, maybe there will be some things that need to be tweaked, you know. And if you come back and say, Oh, it has to be scrapped, then I'm actually gonna trust you that like you have done everything in your best interest, like to make it work.

And so again, there's just like that bigger piece of like not trying to take on every single system and every single um process myself or like as a business owner, like there are opportunities to share that that wealth and to bring experts in, and um being able to bring in an expert for this particular process was so valuable for me and you know way beyond like again that freedom that being a that sense of freedom is beyond the monetary costs of letting letting you do the trademark process. I haven't even thought about it. I was like, hey, okay, that's how it should be.

Amy:
Right. Yeah, well, thank you so much for doing this with me. Uh I uh it's been so nice to hear from you what your side of the process was because I'm always in my side and in the details. So like hearing that it gives you that freedom is is really nice for me. So thank you so much for doing this conversation. Um and uh yeah, that's it. That's all I got.

Cheryl:
Well, thank you for being an expert in your field and for letting me share my experience with your audience. I really appreciate it too.