Monday, September 29, 2008

Making A Trademark For A Home Business Opportunity Online

By Myles Krueger

One of the most significant steps you can take with a home business opportunity online is to get a trademark approved by the US government that will stand the test of time. One of the best things you can do is protect any names, brands, or ideas that you put down on paper.

To get your trademark set up for your company name you should do so with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. They offer a online form that is called the Trademark Electronic Application System or the TEAS that will allow for you to take care of most of the application online.

You will probably have to pay around $325 to get the trademark, but that depends on what you want to get done. If this is your first time going through this process make sure that you have thorough help with this. The USPTO actually gives an all day phone number that you can call whenever you want to assist people with questions that they have about filing for a trademark.

They are supportive, but strategically they can't really help you out like a trademark lawyer will be able to. There are quite a few that you can contact that will support you every step of the way with the trademark and help you figure out a trademark that will serve your company long term.

The last thing you want to have to go through is re-applying after you have filled out the form once. It is possible to get declined the getting a response can take months so you don't want to have to go through all that time while your company name is unprotected. Often you can run into this problem because your name is too general or it infringes upon another companies trademark somehow.

If you are out of the country you can actually get someone else like a lawyer to represent you in filing the trademark application. Whether you are a US citizen or not it doesn't really matter and you can still turn in the form. You will probably have to get a EIN number if you do not have a citizenship.

Before you have completed the process make sure that you have a name that is very arbitrary because you don't want to have to go through this process again down the road because you have changed products or business philosophies. Make it easy on yourself initially so you don't put yourself into a corner.

Now that you have figured out a trademark and have it approve take some time to enjoy it because you have possibly your first piece of intellectual property. This will be a lifesaver down the road as you face stiff competition and get bigger.

About the Author: