A trademark is a brand for a product or service. The trademark can be a name, phrase, or logo used on a product or advertised for a service. For example, McDonald's® is a name for restaurant or Nike® for shoes.

No. Trademarks, patents, and copyrights are different types of intellectual property.

Trademark is a brand for a product or service. For example, the name Coca-Cola is used for soft drinks and Nike's swoosh logo is used for clothing.

Copyright protects art, literary works such as novels, music songs, movies, software code, photographs or art.

Patent protects an invention for a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. For example, the electric light bulb was patented by Thomas Edison.

Federal trademark registration provides several advantages. It protects your brand identity by preventing other people from using a similar trademark to confuse consumers. It gives you legal presumption of ownership and exclusive rights to use the trademark nationwide in connection with your goods or services. A federal registration allows you to file suit in federal court against other parties who infringe your mark. In addition, you may use the cherished ® symbol. Registering a trademark is one of the most important things you can do in protecting your business or product brand.

We normally process orders in about 2-3 business days, unless you have a rush. Afterwards, the USPTO will usually take about 3-4 months to examine the application. It’s important to submit a complete and accurate application to make the process smoother.

The symbols ®, TM and SM provide notice to the world that you are claiming trademark rights in any mark using these symbols. You may use the TM on marks identifying goods, and the SM on marks identifying services. You need not have a federal or state registration to use the TM or SM symbols. However, the ® symbol, which provides "statutory notice" can only be used if your mark is federally registered.