*Please note that while Gerben Law Firm, PLLC is not located in California, it can assist businesses from California in registering a federal trademark because it is a federal matter.

Since its founding in 2008, Gerben Law Firm has helped thousands of clients register their trademarks. Trademark attorney Josh Gerben and his experienced team work with businesses, large and small, across the country, including the Long Beach area. Whether you want to open a sub shop in Belmont Shore or a real estate firm in Los Alamitos, Gerben Law Firm is here to assist you.

Federal Trademark Registration for Your Long Beach, CA Business

• Top Questions about Obtaining a Trademark
• Misunderstandings about Filing Trademarks
• Number of Trademarks Registered in Long Beach
• Trademark Services offered to Long Beach Clients
• Additional Information on Registration

Top 4 Questions Long Beach Businesses Have About Obtaining and Protecting a Trademark

• Who needs a trademark?
  • A trademark is anything that protects your brand, like a business or product name, logo, or slogan. Business owners and individuals that have created or are developing a brand should consider registering their trademarks with the USPTO. The attorneys at Gerben Law Firm will work with you to determine which aspects of your brand will benefit from trademark registration.

• How long does it take to register a trademark?
  • Trademark registration usually takes around 8-10 months from submitting the application to being approved by the USPTO. In some instances, however, it can take a year or more to gain approval. Fortunately, you could have some protections on your mark as soon as you file your application. That is because the date you register will become your priority date. Anyone looking to file a similar trademark after that date could be rejected.

• What are the benefits of working with an attorney to register a trademark?
  • While working with an attorney is not required by the USPTO, it comes with many benefits. First, trademark attorneys have access to sophisticated software for conducting comprehensive trademark searches, and if a search reveals a similar mark is in use, your attorney will assist you with making changes to your mark. Your attorney will then draft your application to help you obtain broad protections, and they’ll respond to most non-substantive Office Actions on your behalf. Most importantly, while your attorney manages your trademark registration, you can continue to focus on growing your business.

• Can I register a mark if someone else is already using it?
  • In some instances, you may be able to register a trademark, even if someone else is using it. The USPTO will reject a trademark application if it could cause a likelihood of confusion with an existing mark, but not all similar marks could cause consumer confusion. For instance, United Airlines and United Healthcare both use the trademark ‘United’ because consumers are not likely to confuse an airline and an insurance company. If you are unsure about whether your mark is available for registration, contact Gerben Law Firm.

Common Misunderstandings about Filing Trademarks for Long Beach Businesses

• I registered my trademark with the State of California, so my mark is fully protected.
  • While registering in California doesn’t hinder your trademark protection, it won’t protect your mark in disputes that occur outside the state. The process to apply for a U.S. trademark is typically more complicated than registering with the state, but you will have the presumption of nationwide validity.

• A Google search is a sufficient trademark search.
  • Google searches, or any free online search source, is likely not comprehensive enough to reveal potential conflicts. These free searches typically only reveal exact matches to your business name, product name, or slogan. Unfortunately, most trademark disputes are caused by similar trademarks, not exact matches. In addition, conducting a trademark search on a logo, sound, smell, or signature color can be extremely difficult with free search engines. To ensure that all possible matches to your trademark are found, it’s best to work with a trademark attorney.

• The USPTO will let me know if someone else is infringing on my mark.
  • The USPTO will register your trademark, but they will not police its use or take action against infringement. As a trademark owner, these will be your responsibilities. However, most trademark attorneys, including Gerben Law Firm, offer services to help you monitor your trademark’s use and take legal action against potential infringement.

• I registered my business name, so my brand is protected from infringement.
  • Registering your business name is an important first step in protecting your brand, but it may not be enough to do so on its own. Consider all aspects of your business that represent your brand, including product names, logos, slogans, and even colors. These should also be registered with the USPTO to ensure your brand remains in your control.

• My federally registered trademark will protect me in cases of infringement in other countries.
  • Your U.S. trademark provides valuable protections of your mark, but only within the United States. If you do business outside the U.S., whether through sales, manufacturing, or distribution, you should strongly consider international registration. To register your mark in another country, you can file directly with the country’s trademark office or utilize the Madrid Protocol.

The Number of Trademarks Registered by Long Beach Businesses (by Year)

How many trademarks have Long Beach, CA businesses registered over the years? Gerben Law Firm collected the following data.

*data was gathered from the USPTO’s public database

Types of Trademark Services We Offer

• Search Services
• Registration Services (filings & applications)
• Renewal Services
• Monitoring Services (protection)
• Office Action Services
• Portfolio Management Services
• Opposition Proceeding Services
• Enforcement / Infringement Services

Additional Information on Trademark Registration for Long Beach Businesses

It’s an exciting time to own a business in Long Beach! Whether you’re expanding an existing business or starting small, your brand could benefit from the protection of federal trademark registration.

Consider this scenario: Ray, a nutritionist, is unhappy with the protein bars on the market, so he decides to develop his own, using natural, healthy ingredients. Ray invests plenty of time and money into product development and branding. Once he’s finally perfected his Clean Protein bars, he decides he just can’t invest any more time or money into trademark registration for his protein bars, and he concludes the business is just too small to worry about trademarks anyway.

Customers at the Long Beach Farmers Market and his local gym love Ray’s Clean Protein bars, and once things settle down, he finally decides to start the trademark registration process. Unfortunately, Ray learns that another company has been using the name Clean Protein for their meal replacement shakes for years, and because they registered with the USPTO, Ray will need to pull his products and rebrand them. This will take significantly more time and money than it would have if he’d started the trademark process early on.

Even small businesses like Ray’s can benefit from trademark registration. Protect your brand, and the investment you’ve put into it, by starting the registration process now. Contact Gerben Law Firm today to learn more about our trademark registration services at a reasonable, flat rate.