Trademark

Trademark Clearance and Registration
Dow Lohnes lawyers provide full-service capabilities in determining the availability of marks and obtaining federal and/or state registrations for trademarks, service marks or certification marks. We are currently prosecuting approximately five hundred applications before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and maintain several thousand more federal and state trademark and service mark registrations for our clients.

We offer clients customized searching options to meet their goals and needs, taking into account the desired level of certainty, the requested response time and the associated costs. Search methods include computerized online searches, obtaining search reports from outside firms or a combination of both. Online searches seek to identify registered marks or pending applications which might bar an application and for unregistered marks, as well as domain names, which might expose the client to an infringement claim or limit their scope of protection. We search databases of federal and state trademark records, the Internet and various common law sources. Our proximity to the Patent and Trademark Office provides us with the capability to obtain and review copies of trademark application files when necessary to obtain additional information that is not available through secondary sources. Applications will sometimes be denied initially by a trademark examiner. We have extensive experience, however, in responding to such actions and successfully obtaining registration for clients. For clients who market their goods and services outside the United States, Dow Lohnes has an extensive network of attorneys throughout the world who can prosecute applications for registration of trademarks and service marks abroad. Our attorneys provide any oversight and guidance that may be required.

Opposition and Cancellation Proceedings
Dow Lohnes's staff reviews all trademarks published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for possible opposition. We will bring to our clients' attention those marks that might be confusingly similar to their marks. We prosecute, as well as defend, opposition proceedings at the Patent and Trademark Office before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Additionally, Dow Lohnes lawyers have experience in proceedings to cancel federally registered marks.

Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition and Related Litigation
Dow Lohnes lawyers handle litigation involving the unauthorized use of trademarks including words, symbols, packaging, advertising, promotion, and trade dress, as well as dilution, unfair competition, false advertising and cybersquatting claims under of the Lanham Act. We are also experienced in bringing claims against the bad faith use and registration of domain names under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. In addition to more typical trademark infringement claims based on the use of confusingly similar marks by third parties, we have experience in prosecuting trademark counterfeiters, as well as authorized distributors of products who engage in the unauthorized diversion of goods into the "grey market."