Ah, the irony of using an old-fashioned logo that says Trademark on the Trademark page only because the trademark is probably no longer valid or enforceable. Too bad, so sad Arbuckles Roasted Coffee.
Trademark Registration
Trademark registration is something you should always hire an attorney for; It is not a simple thing to do a trademark search and, even after that, the paperwork is no joke. If you are starting a new business and have a name or catchphrase or particularly unique design or product, you may have a protectable trademark. For anyone starting a business, I'd suggest a consultation to discuss your needs. This is one of my few services that does not have a set flat fee and on which the price of service will be negotiable, because it is impossible to know how difficult it is going to be until the full scope of the trademark search is determined. Entrepreneurs - identification of your intellectual property, registration, and documentation should be part of your launch of any business.
If you're starting or own an existing business but haven't protected your IP, you should fill out the form on the right.
Registration
First, the good news, if you've been using your proprietary work or using your business name for awhile and haven't registered your copyright or trademark yet, you probably don't have to worry. If you are were the first to use or create it and you can prove that, then you haven't lost your rights, Copyright and trademark are inherent in the idea, registration just has costs and benefits, the main one being enforceability. But, of course, that's when you hit that regulations book over here.
No one really wants to deal with government regulations, not even lawyers...or government regulators.
Copyright Registration
If you don't register your copyright, you still own your copyright. But if you register your copyright, you can enforce that copyright in court. Seems a little silly, sure, but this is the government we're talking about, so not really that silly. Prompt registration is also helpful because a copyright over five years old becomes much easier to defend. Are you not sure if your work is copyrightable (if it's "useful" it's not, for example) or if you want to copyright your work, but do not want to do the paperwork yourself (you have chosen wisely) go to the form below and submit your information.
Okay, so forms aren't actually filled out on typewriters anymore, but isn't this a cool typewriter?
Starting your Small Business
Many small business owners simply do not think about their intellectual property needs until it is too late. One important, and relatively affordable, step you can take early on to protect your company's assets is to assess your Intellectual Property assets and needs. If you have a logo and a company name, you should consider registering your trademark. If you have creative or proprietary content you use as part of your business and you want to protect from misappropriation, a copyright registration might be a good idea. And if you have information that is best protected via trade secret, you should have help identifying what those secrets entail and what systems need to be in place to protect that proprietary information. And while I cannot file for a patent for you, I can help you decide if you should be applying for patents and help you find an attorney who can help.