Ask HN: Trademark registering

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1489775

by jbrun • 16 years ago

4 5 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am looking for a cheap service to register a trademark in the US, Canada, Europe. Any suggestions?

pbhjpbhj• 16 years ago

Do your own search and register direct with the offices yourself? Probably only doable for a textual mark.

CyberFonic• 16 years ago

It's really not hard to do the search and registration yourself. You might need to do a bit of reading, and/or asking questions. But no more difficult than learning how to use the latest shiny thing properly.

Be_Silly3• 16 years ago

Wow! You want to do US + EU!??

So, you're in the many $K in filing fees just to go via OHIM - Office Harmonization Interior Market, to get a EU - wide "passport", and a 1.5yr plus min time to registration, permitting zero challenges, which can be technical from the office, or from watchful competitors. "Watchful competitors" include big corps caring for the penumbra their rights cast.

So: nothing cheap.

If you have a VERY CLEAN application, which means you've thought this out a long while first and read up good, ATTORNEY FEES WILL BE THE SMALLEST COST FOR WHAT YOU ASK

Sorry for all the caps, but you see, you can negotiate simplified atorney fees - you don't want to miss on a minimum response time to a fill-in form question, do you, and you do want a service address for all this etc?

Where attorney fees are a big thing is where you've no clue as to the suitability of your trademark or the areas of business you wish to enter into of might apply that mark to. Then, it gets silly. Or alternatively, cheap only if you plan to scale past a little startup.

Oh, yeah, you do realize you have to actually DO business on record in these jurisdictions to keep your marks, and also to keep marks you have to protect them by fighting infringment no matter how silly, or you vacate your claim, don't you?

Basically, you asked about a commitment amount of money, maybe wondering if it's like registering a domain, which conveys zero rights (See Zappa decision for the very latest in a long list of stupid loosers).

Be_Silly3• 16 years ago

Sorry, to clarify, OHIM fees aren't that bad, but you do have to get a translator because you need 2 EU languages, say Eng / French, and again all that local service address stuff, and if you're a US Corp, registering your corp as trading in the EU, somewhere, someplace, and filing even blank tax returns.

What you really need is an Uncle of a friend who's in this business, and tel lthem you'll f=do the donkey work, but can you use their office and beg tricky questions. Network it. Be prepared for some of the snottiest put-downs though :)

That said, DO IT THE HARD WAY YOU'LL LEARN A F'N TON about business!

Be_Silly3• 16 years ago

Whoa, i just checked your profile and you work / founded a business in a legal services field.

Not being funny, but i' surprised you're asking HN.

Ask HN: Trademark registering

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