Should you obtain trademark registration of your business name and/or brand, i.e., your trademark? The answer is absolutely “yes”. The broadest protection you can obtain for your trademark is a federal registration with the U.S Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”). A federally registered trademark provides nationwide protection in all 50 states.

However, certain trademarks cannot be federally registered. The 4 biggest reasons for not being able to obtain a federal registration are: (1) your trademark conflicts with a prior registered or applied for trademark in your channel of trade (area of business); (2) your name is descriptive of your services, for which you will not be able to obtain a trademark on the principal register of the USPTO; (3) your mark involves the sale of marijuana or cannabis products which are not legal under federal law; and (4) your business is strictly local and you are not doing any business outside the locality. In these cases, you may be able to obtain a state registration of your mark which affords at least some protection of your mark within the state. Each state has its own trademark registry. If you are not able to federally register your trademark, then a state trademark is a good idea.