The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) describes trademarks as “any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of theses things that identifies your goods or services.” Beyond just identifying your brand name or logo, trademarks are always connected to specific products or services. That means you can’t just trademark a logo or a brand name. You need to specify what products you sell (or intend to sell—you can apply before you start selling) in order to obtain a trademark from the USPTO.

Trademarks provide the following benefits:

• Distinguish your products from products made by competitors, allowing you to cultivate brand loyalty among customers

• Provide legal protection from other businesses who may want to use or copy your brand name or logo

• Provide recourse when competitors attempt to counterfeit your products or fraudulently sell products you’ve made

These protections are essential for sellers on Amazon, which represents a large and competitive marketplace. That’s why trademarks are so important for Brand Registry—Amazon can provide sellers with better fraud support when their products and brand are properly protected.

The first step toward these protections is submitting an application, which is where we come in. We’ll provide you with plenty of guidance on exactly what information we need and how that will impact both the trademark application process and your flat-fee price.

Trademarks exist specifically to allow businesses a unique and easily recognizable identity associated with the products they sell. This unique identity also helps prevent confusion among consumers, who need to be sure they know exactly what they’re buying. Businesses with similar names or logos can create a Likelihood of Confusion, which refers to the idea that a consumer may not be sure which brand actually made or sold the product they bought.

On Amazon alone, there are thousands of businesses selling products under their own brand names. It’s hard to know whether someone has already registered a trademark for a brand name without doing some research first. We can do this research for you by performing a trademark search. This is an optional service, but if you file an application without having us do this search first, you risk having your application denied for a completely preventable reason. You can read more about our flat-fee pricing for trademark searches here.

Trademarks are just one kind of intellectual property protection. We also provide copyright services for IP Accelerator clients. This is an additional service not included in our flat fee because you don’t need a copyright to enroll in Brand Registry.

Only some of our clients sell products that would benefit from copyright protection. While trademarks broadly protect brand names, logos, symbols, and products, copyright covers unique, original ideas and works of an artistic nature. Words, phrases, simple designs, and popularly recognized icons typically aren’t copyrightable. This chart helps demonstrate the difference between designs that may be entitled to copyright protection and those that may not.

If you intend to sell products with an original design (note that you probably won’t be able to copyright just any product with detailed graphics; for example, a coffee mug featuring Van Gogh’s Starry Night), be sure to mention that you’re interested in copyright when you submit your onboarding questionnaire. Click here to learn more about what we charge for copyright services and how to start working with us.

Ready to Get Started? Have Questions?

Whether you’re ready to work with us or you just want more information, the first step is to get in touch with us. Tap the button below and tell us about yourself.

We’ll follow up within one business day to start you on the path to Brand Registry.