Texas Trademark Litigation Attorneys
Trademarks represent goods and services through unique signs and symbols, unique words and titles, designs, or a combination of these to build brand recognition and goodwill for the brand. Most everyone can recognize a few automobile logos or the trademarks of a handful of chain restaurants. The business’s job is to protect its intellectual property (IP).
If your trademark has been misused, the trademark attorneys with Cherry Johnson Siegmund James offer assistance with trademark enforcement and litigation. Our services include trademark disputes, oppositions, and attempts at trademark cancellations.
How to Prepare for and Prevent Trademark Litigation
Once a trademark is registered, this does not offer protection in and of itself. Trademarks must be robustly defended. It is the company’s job to monitor for potential infringements diligently. In addition to monitoring for trademark infringement, if one is recognized, the business should waste no time in disputing it.
Mounting a defense does a couple of things, it avoids customer confusion and protects the reputation of the brand. Given particular disputes, it is important to assess the company’s goals and possible outcomes of litigation before proceeding with legal action. Your trademark lawyer can offer you advice on how to best move forward.
To retain entitlement to your trademark, you must protect the elements of your brand.
Types of Trademark Infringement to Watch Out For
There are several ways that trademarks can be infringed upon. An experienced trademark infringement litigation attorney can aid you in fighting the unlawful use of your intellectual property.
Counterfeiting Trademarks
When a party unrelated to the original brand uses a logo or symbol to promote or sell its product by passing it off as the real thing, this is a clear violation of trademark laws. Trademark counterfeits can be particularly infuriating because they can badly damage the brand.
When consumers are led to believe they are purchasing from a brand but receive inferior products, they are bound to lose faith in the brand and will likely share their experiences. It can cause significant harm to the reputation of the brand.
Reseller and Authorized Dealer Violations
Some difficulties may arise when you produce a product and allow it to be resold on other markets, particularly online markets. Resale markets include businesses like Amazon and eBay. As a trademark owner, there are a few acronyms that are important for you to understand.
The first is (MAP) or Minimum Advertised Price. MAP policies are essential so that the value of a product is not diminished because it is sold for less than its value. To retain the value of a brand, the manufacturer or owner of the brand will predetermine the price of specific products. The resellers cannot advertise the products below that predetermined amount.
The second important acronym is UPP which stands for Unilateral Pricing Policy. A Unilateral Pricing Policy means that a manufacturer can announce their minimum resale price and can refuse to make further sales to a reseller that violates their trust by selling below the minimum price. A UPP does not require an agreement with resellers to be enforced.
Speak With a Texas Trademark Infringement Litigation Attorney Today
If you have questions about how to best defend your trademark, contact our trademark litigation attorneys with Cherry Johnson Siegmund James. We offer guidance in protecting trademarks against all of the above violations and more. Social media-related trademark enforcement, advertising, and other areas of your business’s trademark could require attention. We are ready to help. Reach out today. Call (254) 732-2242 to schedule a free consultation.