| Return Home | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Site Map |
 |
Trademark help for businesses and legal professionals |
Recommended Opinion |
Services Order
now & pricing Information Quick
start overview Resources Glossary Contact Us
Pliam Law Group, P.A.
612-781-4426 voice |
|
|
The Recommended Opinion is designed with a view toward long term investment in a mark. It includes a thorough analysis of (1) the legal strength of your proposed mark; (2) whether your mark is likely to infringe
an existing mark, which would put you at risk for a lawsuit; and (3) whether your mark is likely to have problems during registration, and the nature of any such problems.
By contrast, our budget opinion is given over the phone, with a written summary provided. The budget opinion will not identify borderline risks that could impact your long-term use of the mark. It identifies only the most egregious risks, i.e. those that could lead to a legal claim of bad faith and monetary damages. This bare bones opinion is designed primarily for those who simply cannot afford the recommend opinion, or who are not planning on substantial, long-term use and investment in the mark, and don't mind giving up their mark if they are sued down the road. Legal Strength Not all marks receive the same protection. The stronger a mark is legally, the easier time you will have stopping competitors from using a similar mark. This in turn directly affects the long-term market potential and overall value of a mark. Most new business owners choose business names that are highly descriptive of the goods or services they sell. The lure of a descriptive mark is undeniable, since in the short term, people who've never heard of you will at least know what you're business is about simply by seeing your trademark. However, this strategy can present serious problems in the long run, because descriptive marks receive little to no legal protection, and thus copy-cat competitors can easily encroach upon your name or logo. Our Recommended Opinion provides a detailed analysis of the legal strength of your mark, so you will know whether your mark is worthy of long-term investment. By contrast, the budget opinion provides no information about the legal strength of your mark.
While the Budget Opinion analyzes close matches to your mark, the Recommended opinion analyses a broader array of marks, so that you have an even better sense of which marks may create problems for you in the future. The Budget Opinion tries to identify those marks that may lead to "bad faith infringement" and hence monetary damages if caught infringing, as well as marks that are a clear case of infringement, and arguably 'bad faith infringement." The Recommended Opinion goes further by analyzing those marks that are not clear-cut risks of infringement. These marks will doubtfully ever be involved in a case of "bad faith infringement," but are nonetheless very possible risks for inadvertent infringement. Thus, the fundamental difference between the two opinions is that the Recommended Opinion delves more into the gray areas of infringement, whereas the Budget Opinion examines only the clearest possibilities of infringement. |