# Trademarks, etc.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademarks-etc/5489>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 7, 1999, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademarks-etc/5489 "1999-09-07T15:17:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 1999, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademarks-etc/5489/21 "1999-09-10T15:42:00Z")

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All you need to “get” a TM trademark is to make and use it, and not be successfully challenged by someone with an older trademark.

But to get a circle-R registered trademark… check out [http://www.uspto.gov](http://www.uspto.gov)

* * *

John W. Kennedy  
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”  
– Charles Williams

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [September 10, 1999, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademarks-etc/5489/22 "1999-09-10T20:19:00Z")

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The PTO website will give you the fee schedule for registering a trademark.  
The real costs come from trying to protect the mark. It’s up to the owner of the trademark to protect it. The government isn’t going to help you do it.

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**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 1999, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademarks-etc/5489/23 "1999-12-22T15:12:00Z")

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A real life ® experience: our trademark became a federally registered mark yesterday, 12-21-99. The application and the fee ($245.00) were sent 10-27-98. 14 months.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 1999, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trademarks-etc/5489/24 "1999-12-22T16:12:00Z")

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$245.00?..I thought it was more than that.

Congrats.

My website was shut down once, 3 years back because some guy claimed copyright infrigment on his trademark logo. Took me some time to find out that logos aren’t copyrighted [they are trademarked] and they don’t have a trademark for their logo. sigh

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