Trademarking company names and nicknames. Just drop the “Inc.”
Many people incorrectly believe that company names cannot be trademarks. The legal name of a company cannot be a trademark (such as “Apple Computer, Inc.”) but the legal name almost always contains a trademark (such as “Apple”). So not only can you, in most cases, trademark you company name, but you should since it is usually your most valuable trademark. The same rule applies to company nicknames, assumed names, and “doing business as” names. For years people referred to Federal Express as FedEx, and in 1994 the company officially adopted its nickname as its legal name. So if your company name is “A Company that Makes Everything” but everyone calls it “ACME,” then you should get a trademark for your nickname – and you should consider changing your company name to ACME.
Clock Tower Law Group’s trademark portfolio includes four main categories of trademarks:
A trademark is just that – a mark of a trade. Something that identifies the source of the products or services being offered. If a company name is being used to identify the source of a company’s goods/services, then it can be registered with the the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The following are some of the registered company name trademarks for some of Clock Tower Law Group’s clients.
- Innovatium
- MOBIJOKES
- Get Human
- A Glass Act
- SANBlaze
- MotionMall
- KAYAK
- FiscalDoctor
- KAYAK
- Gubbs
- BzzAgent
- OLEDA
- Accelerated Cure Project
- SITESPECT
- CLOCK TOWER LAW GROUP
- VHS
- VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL
- PRESSED 4 TIME
- COMREX
Note that all trademark applications are public records, so none of this information is confidential. Also, since patent and trademark law is federal law, Clock Tower Law Group’s clients can be (and are) located anywhere in the country or the world.
