Serving in Houston & Fort Worth | Se Habla Español
Trademarks protect unique symbols, names, and slogans used by businesses to identify their products or services. A trademark can be everything from a word, logo, or package design as well as shapes, colors, sounds, and even scents. The more distinctive a mark, the stronger the protection it will be afforded under the law.
Copyright protection extends to a broad spectrum of creative outputs including literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural works, motion pictures, sound recordings, and architectural designs. Copyright holders possess the right to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, and perform or display the work publicly. Copyrights do not protect ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries. They protect the expression of ideas rather than the ideas themselves.
Trademarks can be noted two ways: (1) You use “TM” next to Trademarks that are either unregistered or have a pending registration with the USPTO, or (2) The ® symbol should only be used in connection with Trademarks that have officially achieved registration with the USPTO.
For copyrights, the © symbol is used to indicate that a work is protected.
1) Common Law: rights are obtained by use with no application necessary.
2) State: rights are obtained by use via a paper application form submitted by fax or mail.
3) Federal: rights obtained by use or bona fide intent to use via online application or paper application for a higher fee.
There is a scale identifying the types of trademarks and the levels of protection they can obtain:
Fair Use allows you to reproduce parts of copyrighted material without the author’s permission in certain circumstances, such as if you intend to use another’s work for a limited and transformative purpose. Examples include a news outlet using a photo from a public event to illustrate a news story, a comedian creating a parody of a song to criticize the lyrics or the message, and a teacher using a short excerpt of a novel to teach a lesson on literary techniques.
To prevent people from stealing content, creators can add watermarks and include a copyright notice wherever their content appears. A clear copyright notice should look like this: “Copyright © {Year} [Author/Creator’s Name], All rights reserved.”
For Goods, a specimen shows your trademark as actually used in commerce with your existing goods in a way that directly associates the trademark with the goods. Examples:
For Services, a specimen shows the trademark as actually used in commerce with your existing services in a way that directly associates the trademark with the services. Examples:
Trademarks for the same word can coexist when they operate in distinct market categories. Here are some good examples:
To create copyright, the work must be expressed in a physical form that is stable enough to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of time more than transitory. There are some key aspects to this:
If the term of copyright protection has expired or the creator failed to comply with any legal formalities required at the time of creation or thereafter, the work enters public domain. The creator may also decide before the expiration of the copyright to make the work public domain. Some expressions like facts, local laws, and works of the U.S. Government are excluded from copyright protection and thus are immediately born into public domain—free to copy, reuse, adapt, or distribute.
Trademarks for words include: names of business(es), names of product(s), or slogans. Trademarks for symbols include logos (design image with or without text).
Logos are often useful when the name of the business or product is not very unique and you are concerned about it being able to obtain trademark protection. The client can incorporate important words into logos to create something that is then protectable and can be used to distinguish their business branding.
© 2025 Dore Rothberg Law, P.C.
Legal Disclaimer | Privacy Policy