Who Is A Trademark Attorney?
A trademark agent or an attorney is highly qualified and knowledgeable in the rules, regulations and laws relating to trademark and can provide legal assistance on the design an other attributes of a trademark. A trademark attorney kickstarts his or her career by working in a firm where the service of trademark attorneys are relevant and necessary or an Intellectual property attorneys’ firm who are specialized and practiced in the areas of trademark law, patent law, copyright law, etc.
The trademark attorney is well versed and trained in providing advice on the selection or adoption of fresh trademarks, using and registration of trademarks, filing and processing applications for Trademark Registration, etc. A trademark attorney is responsible for handling cases related to trademark invalidations, oppositions, annulments, etc and also providing legal advice of infringement of trademark, etc.
Certain large companies who are in need of trademark related services also employ trademark attorneys for dealing with their company trademark matters and legal services. Nowadays, there are law firms who take up trademark legal services as part of their multidisciplinary legal services. So if you are seeking legal assistance regarding the Trademark Registration of your product, service or company, then it is the trademark attorney that you need to approach.
Role Of Trademark Attorney In India
A trademark is important to a business or a company as it not only makes it stand out from other similar businesses, it also ensures that the reputation of the company is not tainted by illegal means by competitors as well. The Trademark Registration process can be done completely online in India. However, it is better to seek the expertise of a trademark attorney to make the processes associated with trademark registration quite smooth. These include selecting or designing a new trademark, ensuring that it does not resemble any previous trademarks in history, checking its amenability with Indian legislation, etc.
The trademark agent first helps you in selecting a suitable trademark after confirming its amenability with the Indian legal standards and thus ensuring that the trademark has least chances of being rejected during registration. The next step is to file the trademark application. The filing process during the registration involves some special criteria which can be easily managed by the attorney. If there is any disapproval in case of the trademark, it is the responsibility of the attorney to deal with it and overcome the disapproval. Hence the services of a trademark attorney is crucial in your Trademark Registration process. Everything from selecting the apt trademark to registering it under your firm name can be done smoothly with the help of a trademark attorney. In addition, you get to be wary of the trademark infringement aspects and can increase the chances of your trademark getting registered faster.
Trademark Attorney In Other Countries
In countries like the United Kingdom (UK), the trademark attorneys are treated like lawyers holding a legal degree. Under the 2007 Act of Legal Services, the trademark attorneys are recognized as separate legal advisors. However, in the United States, this attorney profession is considered to be a subdivision of the legal profession as they are considered as law attorneys
with specializations in trademark laws. The intellectual property courts is where they usually appear for cases and
hearings in most countries except for the US, where they are treated as law attorneys who are supposed to attend only Trademark related issues.
In countries like New Zealand, Australia, UK, the minimum educational qualification required to practice as a trademark attorney is to attain GCSE A, B or C levels in 5 subjects and GCE A grades in 2 subjects which are all approved. However, candidates with law degrees can exempt themselves from qualifying exams of few fundamental subjects.
The US attorneys are not required to pass any special qualifying exams to practice as trademark attorneys. They simply need a law degree and a license to practice in the same to represent companies or individuals in front of the USPTO or the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The trademark attorneys conduct a thorough search through the records in trademarks to find any similarity as such to any prior trademarks or related applications. Hence, while filing for your trademark registration, it is better to have a trademark attorney by your side to ensure the legal side of trademarks.