10 months and a few hundred dollars later I received an envelope with a certificate saying the GRUMO is now a registered trademark in the US. Oh yeah!
Getting a trademark is a long and boring process.
Given the advances in technology available today I am sure there would be a way faster way to process this type of applications.
I’m thinking a free iPhone/Android app with instant database lookup and simple mark submission and trademark class selection.
Instead, you have to deal with a very ugly and confusing site to figure out how to apply correctly for your trademark.
I imagine trademark lawyers love this unnecessary complexity because it keeps them busy filing applications on behalf of companies and individuals like myself.
Beware of the many Trademark related scams
The thing I found very annoying was the amount of scams surrounding the trademark process.
Because all trademark applications and status are open to the public, the whole world can see who is applying for trademarks.
This is necessary to let everyone have a chance to dispute a trademark in case it is being used by another company or individual.
However, during the 10 month application process I must have gotten over 10 letters from trademark lawyers and spammy trademark databases trying to get me to send them money to “help” me obtain or secure my trademark.
The worst one was a very clever letter I received the same day I received the official trademark certificate.
It came from a company called WDTP (World Database of Trademarks and Patents) containing an invoice for the amount of $2,256.00 CAD.
Because it looks so official and came at the same time as the USPTO envelope, I thought they were related and it was some kind of final invoice.
The wording is confusing enough to get you thinking but after a little bit of research online I found it was a scam. Basically, all they do is enter your trademark information into a database and charge you an outrageous amount to do so.
Having into account the thousands of trademarks registered every year in the US and world wide even if they get 0.001% of people to bite the bait these sons of the devil must be making hundreds of thousands of dollars doing basically nothing!
Here is the invoice from the fookers:
Is having a trademark useful?
I am not sure, I may know a few years from now and I will let you know.
All I know for sure are two things; the US trademark certificate looks very cool hanging on my living room wall, and from now on I can put ® beside the Grumo brand… so here it is Grumo®, wow!
Have you applied for a trademark before? How was the process? did you experience similar scam attempts?
How useful was to have a trademark?
Update 2010-10-03: It turns out owning a trademark can help in obtaining a domain name from a cybersquatter. See here: https://grumomedia.com/how-to-adquire-a-domain-name-from-a-reseller-brute-force-vs-negotiation
—
Related Posts:
How to adquire a domain name from a reseller – Brute Force vs Negotiation
Running an animation studio – Behind the scenes of Grumo Media
Why every website needs a great explanatory video
Step by step guide to produce a promo video
How to create an Awesome demo video
How much a typical promo video costs?
The Story behind the name Grumo
Miguel, did you use an attorney to do the trademark? if not what website did you use?
Hi, I got advice from a local attorney and made the application at http://www.uspto.gov/