Miami Trademark Registration
Trademark Attorney Services for Your Miami Business
Serving the Miami, FL area | 305-351-9182
Miami Trademark Registration
Serving the Miami, FL area | 305-351-9182
We have been assisting entrepreneurs, established businesses and other lawyers with trademarks since 2008. We are very proud of the fact that our firm’s representation has resulted in the successful registration of more than 7,500 trademarks with the USPTO.
We offer a full range of trademark, copyright and patent services to entrepreneurs, established businesses and other attorneys (on behalf of their clients). We can assist clients in all 50 U.S. states and from countries around the world.
$1,500
(Plus Government Filing Fee)
Please note that while Gerben IP is not located in Florida, it can assist businesses from Florida in registering a federal trademark because it is a federal matter.
Gerben IP provides legal services for everyone from a small start-up to an international corporate powerhouse. Trademark attorney Josh Gerben started the firm in 2008 to help businesses register and protect their trademarks. The attorneys at Gerben IP have registered over 7,500 trademarks and are ready to assist you and your business with your unique trademark needs.
Gerben IP is based in Washington, DC but assists clients across the country, including from Miami. With competitive rates and individualized service, Gerben IP’s attorneys provide cost-conscious legal services and deliver quality results.
Year | # of Trademarks Filed |
---|---|
2021 | 6796 |
2020 | 6447 |
2019 | 5292 |
2018 | 5153 |
2017 | 4739 |
2016 | 4539 |
2015 | 4428 |
2014 | 4093 |
Year | # of Trademarks Filed |
---|---|
2013 | 3806 |
2012 | 3653 |
2011 | 3342 |
2010 | 2975 |
2009 | 2718 |
2008 | 2724 |
2007 | 2897 |
2006 | 2661 |
Successful Miami businesses know that trademark protection is one of the most important things businesses can do to build a successful company, as a company’s trademark will represent the company’s quality, ethos, and style. Whether you own a corporation downtown or a restaurant in Wynwood, protecting your trademarks can help you prevent unnecessary legal disputes and help create a strong, protectable brand for the future.
Let’s consider a consumer electronics company that sets up shop in Miami. The company creates a fashion-forward wearable fitness wristband that logs steps and physical activity. The company calls itself “Kinelectic” and calls its wristband the “Kintelectual.” Here, the company has two different trademarks to consider: (1) Kinelectric and (2) Kintelectual. The company’s founder, Len Smith, fails to do a trademark search and releases the product without registering the trademarks or checking to see who else might be using similar trademarks. He invests $10,000 into marketing and advertisement and an additional $50,000 into the custom design and packaging of his products.
It turns out that a Georgia company has been selling “smart” basketball sneakers using the name “Kentelectic” for several years throughout the United States. Suddenly, that company starts to see Len Smith’s trademark infringement advertising on Facebook and through Google and sends Len a cease-and-desist letter telling him to stop all use of the “Kinelectric” and “Kintelectual” trademarks. Because Len did not properly search the availability of his chosen brand names, Len will now likely be faced to rebranding completely and may be responsible for any damages that Len caused to the other company, such as lost sales because of consumer confusion.
Trademark law is in place to allow consumers to make informed decisions in the marketplace based on what they already know about specific brands. It also allows businesses to invest in the quality of their products, style, and customer service knowing that someone else will not legally be able to “piggy-back” on the company’s hard-work in branding its products. In order to gain that protection, every business owner from a retail store in Aventura to a club in South Beach needs to do a search to check the availability of their trademark and makes moves to register and protect it. Otherwise, business owners will not be able to invest in their brand and take full advantage of their hard-work and ingenuity.
As soon as possible. You can apply to “reserve” a trademark for up the three years if you have a “bona fide” intent to use the trademark on specific products or services. This means that you can start to protect your trademark before you even begin using it. If you don’t make this filing, your trademark rights can only begin when you actually start selling your products or services, which could allow someone else to reserve the mark before you begin use.
Yes, but there are risks. If you own a trademark registration in your name, personally, then you can be personal responsible for any damage your use of the trademark causes others who may have used a similar trademark first. Your personal assets could be at stake. Always consult with an attorney before deciding ownership issues.
Trademark law protects brands and other words, phrases and almost anything that represents a single business. Copyright protects “creative” items, like books, videos, artwork and other creative endeavors. Sometimes, a picture can be protected under both copyright law and trademark law, if it’s a creative work that represents a business (like a creative logo). An attorney can help you determine the best way to protect your intellectual property.
If you use a commonly-used word in connection with goods or services that are not related to that word, it can be a trademark. Even a word like “What?” can be a trademark for, say, motor oil or nutritional supplements. However, a word like “Sold” could not likely be protected by a realtor, because it is commonly-used in that industry and would not act as a trademark.
Anything that uses marketing slogans or business names can cause trademark issues. While it may not be practical to look at every aspect of every marketing campaign, an experienced trademark attorney can guide you through the most pressing issues.
Under trademark law, you are not automatically permitted to use your name as a trademark in the marketplace. If someone else has already established trademark rights in a similar name (think, Kim Kardashian) you may be barred from using your name as a trademark in commerce in certain industries.
Trademark protection should be high on your priority list and should be budgeted in your business plan. It is just too important not to take seriously. If you invest in developing your business and your name, you do not want all of that hard work to be for nothing. Gerben IP offers reasonable flat fee pricing that is affordable for even the smallest businesses.
A trademark application requires dozens of legal decisions just to get the application filed. Everything from the ownership of the trademark to the scope of the goods and services to the availability of the mark will change the filing strategy. Once the application has been filed, then there are addition decisions that may need to be made. An experienced attorney can help you avoid common mistakes that could be fatal to your trademark registration.