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Do I need to register a trademark and why? I'm Steve Kramer. I'm a Florida trademark
attorney. And really the question is what is a trademark? And a trademark really is
a recognizable sign, design or expression. It's something, you know, it can be as simple
as a logo. It can be the name of a company. It can be, you know, for McDonald's the Golden
Arches or it can even be a color that brings to mind a certain company. Really it's anything
that would signal who produces a product, who the source a particular product or service
is. And the question you've got to ask yourself is do you register it or not? Because you
gain trademark protection -- some limited trademark protection -- by doing business
and by obtaining what's called secondary meaning, where people think of your product. But you
gain more protection if you actually register the trademark. And you register it by filing
with a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. And what that gets is it
puts the public on notice, it tells the world this is my trademark. This is my brand. It
also can get you a presumption of ownership, a presumption that your trademark is valid
which you might not get if you don't register it. It gives you also the exclusive right
to use that trademark and it can oppose penalties and fines on other people who infringe on
your trademark down the line. So there are some real good reasons to go ahead and file
a trademark. If you have any questions, call me. We deal with these types of issues, all
kinds of intellectual property issues. You know, we're ready to help you with any issue
you've got. That's why we're one firm for life. So call me, pick up the phone. I'm Steve
Kramer, thanks for watching.