Selection and clearance
Evaluate distinctiveness, relevant goods and services, federal records, public use, domain context, and business risk before launch.
Brands and source identifiers
Trademark services from clearance through registration and maintenance
Cognivito helps businesses evaluate, clear, apply to register, and maintain names, logos, and other source identifiers while keeping the filing tied to actual goods, services, ownership, and use.
Written and reviewed by Stewart Myers, Oregon attorney and registered patent attorney · Last reviewed
Direct answer
What does a trademark protect?
Short answer: a trademark identifies the source of goods or services. It can include a word, phrase, design, or other indicator that functions as a mark. Federal registration is not the same as forming a business entity, registering a domain name, or obtaining a patent or copyright.
Clearance should consider meaning, appearance, sound, commercial impression, related goods and services, common-law use, and the practical market—not merely whether the exact text appears in a USPTO search.
Trademark lifecycle
Protect the brand as a continuing business asset
Application strategy
Confirm the owner, mark format, filing basis, goods and services, specimens or intent-to-use path, and the application's business purpose.
USPTO prosecution
Review office actions, likelihood-of-confusion refusals, descriptiveness issues, identification requirements, evidence, arguments, and amendments.
Maintenance and changes
Track required filings, continued use, ownership changes, portfolio records, and selected monitoring or enforcement needs.
Frequently asked
Trademark questions
Why search beyond an exact match?
The USPTO can refuse an application when a mark is confusingly similar to a registered mark for related goods or services. Similarity can involve sound, appearance, meaning, or overall commercial impression, so an exact-text search is only a starting point.
Should a company file a word mark or a logo?
The answer depends on what the business uses, what it needs to protect, distinctiveness, budget, and expected design changes. A standard-character word mark and a design mark present different scope and specimen questions.
Can an application be filed before use begins?
A U.S. intent-to-use application may be available when the applicant has a bona fide intent to use the mark in commerce. Registration still requires the procedural steps and evidence applicable to that filing basis.
Does registration last forever?
Not automatically. Federal registrations require maintenance filings and continued qualifying use, subject to applicable law and exceptions. Owners should calendar deadlines and keep ownership and use records current.
Authoritative sources
Official trademark resources
Current USPTO records, rules, fee schedules, filing systems, and the specific mark and marketplace control. A public search is not a legal clearance conclusion.
Clear the mark before the business becomes expensive to rename.
Start with the proposed mark, a nonconfidential description of the goods or services, current use, and launch timing.
Discuss a Trademark