If you’re like a lot of people, you might be wondering what you should specifically be looking for when choosing a USA trademark attorney. Most people have never worked with a trademark lawyer before and understandably have no idea what is important and what isn’t.
Although it might sound obvious, you should really think twice about hiring a trademark attorney before you actually speak with the attorney on the phone or in person. In the course of your internet research, you probably stumbled across a fair number of trademark law firms that want you to purchase trademark search and trademark registration services through their websites using impersonal web forms and questionnaires. They want you to enter into an attorney-client relationship before they know anything about you or what you’re trying to accomplish. They want you to hand over your credit card information before consulting with you about your trademark and finding out whether you even need the trademark services they’re offering. In my opinion, you should not purchase important legal services in the same way you would buy a $9.95 piece of merchandise from Amazon.com.
If you are seeking to register your trademark, you want to instead consider working with a trademark lawyer who will take the time to fully address the questions and concerns you likely have about the trademark search and trademark registration process. You want to find a USA trademark attorney who will advise you as to whether filing a trademark application is even appropriate or necessary in your particular case. Do you really want to enter into an attorney-client relationship and give out your credit card number without having had one conversation with the attorney? Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I strongly believe that a one-size-fits-all web questionnaire is never a substitute for an in-depth, personal, individualized, and confidential legal consultation.
As part of your research into which trademark law firm would best be able to assist you with your trademark search or trademark application, you may want to find out how many trademark applications the law firm has filed on behalf of its clients and what percentage of them have actually issued to registration. There are many trademark lawyers throughout the United States that file hundreds of trademark applications every year, primarily because they offer their services at highly discounted rates that appeal to folks who are only looking for the cheapest price and not necessarily the best value. The truth is that only a fraction of these applications ever become trademark registrations. And, let’s face it, a trademark application that doesn’t mature into a trademark registration is like a popcorn kernel that doesn’t pop.
Finally, you may also want to inquire whether your trademark application will be prepared by a licensed trademark attorney or if the work will be performed by a legal secretary or paralegal. If the advertised price of preparing and submitting your trademark application is very low, or if the legal fee you’ll be paying is substantially less than the Trademark Office’s own filing fee, there is a strong probability that a legal secretary or paralegal is doing most of the work and that the trademark lawyer is only performing a minor supervisory role. For a lot of people, this would be completely unacceptable.
If you would like to speak with an experienced USA trademark attorney who strongly believes in providing superior personalized service at a reasonable price, please feel free to give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you soon.