I just finished submitting my (surprisingly easy to put together) application for registering "GoatDog Games" as a trademark. The USPTO won't even assign an attorney to review my application for 4-5 months and the application probably won't be approved for upwards of a year, assuming it isn't denied for some weird reason. The important thing is that my application is filed, so trademark squatters (they really do exist) won't be able to force me to pay them for use of my own company's name.
On top of that, I'm not yet able to provide evidence of "actual use in commerce" since I haven't sold a product across state lines yet. Within six months I either need to be able to provide said evidence and file the appropriate paperwork or I need to ask for an extension on my application.
As for the other names that some of my readers may assume I'll need to register? Well, those are all more complicated and I'll need more time and money to get the applications put together.
Tomorrow I'll start dealing with the complicated (but again not terribly difficult) task of forming a "business entity." I'm thinking S-Corp, but I won't really know until I get a lawyer and discuss the issue with whoever it ends up being.
1 comment:
How very forward thinking of you. I actually had a small business selling some software I wrote many many years ago. But I didn't ever go to the trouble of trademarking anything.
Hope it all works out for you.
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