Introduction to Trademark Law

Introduction to Trademark Law

You see trademarks every day. You get up in the morning, hop in the shower and reach for the Ivory® or Dial® soap; you pull on your Levi's® jeans and lace up your Nike® sneakers, and on the way to work you have some Starbucks® coffee or a Diet-Coke®.

In this section you will find information on what can be trademarked, as well as ideas on how to create a trademark. And once you come up with that trademark, from these pages you can learn:

• how to register your trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office,
• how to use your trademark once it is registered so you don't lose your federal registration, and
• how to protect yourself if someone tries to use your trademark.

You will also find discussion about special rules for famous trademarks and how the Internet affects trademarks, particularly domain names.