Owners and officers of a business come and go, but their trademark can last forever. That is, if the business is vigilant against infringers, both real and potential, and timely renews it’s trademark registration.

The trademark denotes to the customer the source of the product or service. A trademark that has been in commerce and has established a reputation as a source for high quality products or services creates customer loyalty. As a result, competitors may create confusingly similar trademark designs that may steer customers to their product or service. They may use similar colors, designs, or a different phonetic spelling of the trademark word. This not only cuts into sales, but can dilute the value of your trademark if the competitors products or services are inferior. Moreover, the trademark is an asset to to the business that may provide a substantial valuation with the sale, licensing or franchising of the business. For these reasons and others, many businesses hire law firms to and others to constantly run an electronic search of the trademark to find all confusing or potentially confusing similarities in their marketplace.

The failure to stay vigilant may allow other businesses to establish and register their trademarks in their respective state or with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) . This makes it more difficult later to force the competitor to cease and desist with the use of that trademark. The original trademark holder has different legal rights and remedies depending on the type of trademark they own — common law (not registered), state registered or federally registered.

In addition to being vigilant, owners of state and/or federal trademarks must remember to renew their trademarks. Wile each state may have different renewal periods, the USPTO requires that an Affidavit of Use must be filed (1) between the fifth and sixth years following registration and (2) within the year before the end of every ten year period after the date of registration. Check with your legal counsel for other filing requirements that may apply.