Services / Trademark Attorneys
The trademark attorneys of Pittsburgh based law firm Ference & Associates currently file and prosecute both domestic and foreign trademark applications on behalf of their clients. Our Pittsburgh trademark office handles more than 1,200 active trademarks around the world.
The firm’s nationally-ranked trademark attorneys have routine exposure to a wide array of complex problems. In this way, clients get the best of both worlds: a client-focused value-oriented approach, coupled with big-firm experience.
A trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator, used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity, to identify that the products or services with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.
Typically a trademark is a logo, phrase, symbol, name, word, design, image, or a combination of these elements. In addition there are other trademarks (non-conventional) that do not fall into the standard categories. These can be smell, color or unique sounds for example.
Owners of a registered trademark may commence legal proceedings for trademark infringement litigation to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark.
An unregistered trademark is a trademark which does not benefit from the protection afforded to trademarks through registration. It may still receive common law rights which typically are geographic in area.
When a trademark is used in relation to services rather than products, it may sometimes be called a service mark, particularly in the United States.
Rights for a mark are enforceable only after a trademark application is submitted and approved by the United States Patent and Trademark office. Certain trademark claims, such as cancellation and abandonment of use, may be expedited via the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Other trademark litigation matters and handled in federal court in the relevant jurisdiction.
In addition to domestic trademarks, Ference & Associates works with foreign associations to handle international and global trademark policing and enforcement. From our Pittsburgh office, we also monitor filings and research possible potential sales of counterfeit projects domestically and internationally. We have significant experience in enforcing trademark claims for counterfeit products sold via online resellers such as Amazon, Alibaba and eBay.
A trademark may be designated by the following symbols:
TM (A mark used to promote or brand goods, unregistered)
SM (A mark used to promote or brand services, unregistered)
® (A registered trademark or service mark)
Pittsburgh based Ference & Associates’ trademark services include:
-Trademark investigation including brand name, logo and images to ensure that trademarks are available and free from third party claims
-Filing trademark applications
-Intellectual property licensing protocols for trademarks
-Representation before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
-Trademark rights enforcement through litigation