Trademarks

​

During the startup phase, trademark and trade name research can be overlooked by small businesses. Not researching them in advance can result in costly re-branding campaigns and legal fees for handling cease-and-desist letters for trademark infringement claims. At McCauley, we'll research your trademarks and trade names for availability, protectability and registrability.
 
As part of our trademark services, we'll search for existing names that may create risk that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will reject a trademark application or an owner of an existing mark may claim infringement and/or dilution.
 
After our trademark research and analysis, we'll prepare a trademark clearance opinion that will provide you with a full assessment on your mark. If your mark is available for use and it can be registered with a strong chance of receiving approval, we'll also complete your trademark application.

​

Copyrights

 

A copyright is a form of protection granted to creators of original works of authorship. You may be most familiar with copyrights for music, literary text, source code, film, photography, choreography and other forms of artwork.
 
When it comes to copyrighted works, copyright owners have the exclusive right to publish or reproduce the work, make copies of the work, perform or display the work publicly and prepare derivative works. Although a copyright exists as soon as a creator puts the work in a fixed form, such as on film, paper or canvas, registering a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office provides the copyright owner with more benefits, including, but not limited to:

 

• a public record of claim of ownership of the work,

• the ability of a copyright owner to bring a copyright infringement claim,

• additional protection from knock-offs being created overseas and imported into the U.S.,

• the ability for the copyright owner to collect statutory damages and attorney's fees in an infringement suit.

​
As you can see, registration can be beneficial for owners and quite costly for infringers. At McCauley, we'll work with copyright owners and business owners who want to use someone else's work. 
​
For copyright owners, we'll help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of copyright registration and determine if you need to register at all. If copy registration is beneficial for your business, we can file a single or standard application on your behalf and help you enforce the rights you've been granted under U.S. copyright laws. As part of our copyright services, we can help you understand licensing arrangements and draft licensing agreements for you to use with prospective licensees.