When To Trademark?

You should fly the name with the TM mark from day one. That is what shows prior commercial use. Nothing at all is required to use TM.

You get to have the R mark after applying for and getting the trademark registered. But a registered mark can be overturned by anyone who can prove prior commercial use.

I've never heard of needing to exceed an annual sales threshold to qualify for a trademark. All you need to do is prove use in commerce and pay the application fee (and have a unique trademark, of course). If you were using the mark before that other company, you probably had legal rights to it. But if you already changed names, it's probably best to just move forward. As a startup brand, it's always best to focus your budget on inventory and marketing. But if you can afford it, it's a good idea to trademark as soon as you can. As NoXid mentioned, you can start using the ™ symbol right away to publicly claim ownership of the trademark. When you officially register the trademark, you can use the ® symbol.

I've never heard of needing to exceed an annual sales threshold to qualify for a trademark. All you need to do is prove use in commerce and pay the application fee (and have a unique trademark, of course). If you were using the mark before that other company, you probably had legal rights to it. But if you already changed names, it's probably best to just move forward. As a startup brand, it's always best to focus your budget on inventory and marketing. But if you can afford it, it's a good idea to trademark as soon as you can. As NoXid mentioned, you can start using the ™ symbol right away to publicly claim ownership of the trademark. When you officially register the trademark, you can use the ® symbol.

I wish I had that link that mentioned something about minimum revenue thresholds. Either way thank you guys this is great information. I would not have had the money to contest that trademark regardless of my seniority. Also, I'd had troubles securing the .com version of the domain. All in all, I do think the new name is more aligned with our mission now that we are a commercial venture and no longer a side gig for fun.


Again, thanks for the great information.

Nice work...
Are you trying to make a point?

Not my work. I was just trying to point out that some folks will steal somebody else's artwork/idea and will then get away with using it. It happens. I suppose Starbucks isn't worried about Kevin's infringement since he's not making coffee. But it's a pretty blatant ripoff.