Trademarking your company is essential to help customers and clients identify your services and goods. The requirement for trademark name filing is that your trademark is only for commerce purposes. Additionally, the label should not be the same or similar to another brand or company’s trademark. Once these requirements are met, you can approach either an attorney or trademark services for assistance. Here are a few more tips to remember while trademarking your company.
Ensure your trademark is unique
Conduct a thorough and complete trademark due diligence to ensure that your trademark is similar to that of another organization or brand, also known as trademark clearance research. This essential to stay out of legal troubles and avoid the expenses of rebranding in the future. Again, this type of research can help you to determine whether you can get exclusive rights on your brand.
Pick a trademark that can be protected
When it comes to trademarking your company or brand, it is advisable to pick something as fanciful as you can. Not all names and words can be protected as a trademark. For instance, “money holder” is a generic name for wallets or descriptive terms such as “the bag shop.” Such names are difficult to be protected using a trademark. Whereas if you pick a made-up word for your brand, such as Texaco®, it can be easily protected. Moreover, fanciful names are hard to replicate by others seeking to trademark their brand or company.
Register as early as possible
Trademarking your company name with the USPTO or The United States Patent and Trademark Office will give your exclusive rights. You own the trademark registration from the date you have filed your application. The earlier you file your trademark register, the easier it will be to prevent competitors from using a similar trademark. You will hold the rights to your brand from an earlier date. Also, the initial registration will be like a notice to your potential competitors.
Monitor your trademark
Registering your trademark is just the beginning. To completely safeguard your brand or company’s identity, you need to be on a constant lookout for copy-cats. To ensure that your brand identity is not diluted, you need to regularly monitor your trademark so that another company or brand does not use it; otherwise, you may lose the exclusive rights to your label. If you are planning to expand overseas, make sure to protect your trademark under foreign laws.
If you’ve recently established a business, the first thing you must do is get a trademark for your company name. This protects your brand and ensures that no other business can make profits off your sales by starting a similar business with a similar name. There are several ways to acquire a trademark, and here, we’ll explore the three cheapest ways to get a trademark for your business.
Register a business name in your state
State trademark registration is probably the cheapest way to get a trademark for your company, but you must know that it offers protection only within your state. If you have formed a formal business entity, your business name is already registered in your state. This means other businesses are aware of your brand name, and no other company can be formed in your state with the same name. The fee for business entity formation varies in each state.
In some states, your business name can be registered as a trade name, also known as a “doing business as” (DBA) name, if you operate as a sole proprietorship or partnership. Typically, the fee for registering your company name statewide ranges between $50 and $150, depending on the state.
Trademark a business name with the USPTO
Applying at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is another cheap way to get a trademark for your business. The significant benefit of getting a trademark through the USPTO is that it offers nationwide protection. You can apply for trademark registration online using the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). Alternatively, you can file a paper application, but it’s recommended that you do it electronically as there can be a substantial difference in fees. The fees for electronic filing with the USPTO start from $225 per class of goods and services, but they are much higher if you’re filing a paper application.
Use online legal services
Using online legal services is an excellent alternative if you’re not willing to pay considerable fees to a lawyer. Online legal services like LegalZoom.com, Legal-Sherpa.com, Trademarks411.com, and Trademarkia.com can help you file a trademark application. Online services typically advertise fees as low as $150-$200, depending on the kind of services you want. However, this fee is in addition to the filing fee you will be paying the government or the USPTO.
Even without any complications, getting out of the custody is rarely an easy process. Even though the process is not easy, navigating through different bail bonds available is extremely helpful in getting out of a custody.
Below are the three common types of bail bonds that may help one or their loved ones to get out of a custody.
Surety bonds
When one wants to get out of a custody but does not have the cash needed, the help of a bail bondsman is needed. The first type of bail bond that a bail bondsman offers is a surety bond. A surety bond is secured by paying 10% of the bail amount to the bondsman along with the promise to show up in the court when needed. Surety bonds are quite easy to understand and implement. The person under the custody or a third party representing him or her has to pay 10% of the fees to the bondsman, and then the bondsman posts the bail to get the person out of the custody. When one or their loved one does not have enough cash available in hand, most bail bondsmen are flexible when it comes to making arrangements for the payment.
Citation release
Out of the different types of bail bonds, a citation release is an indication that one never gets taken into a custody in the first place. This is when the officer who is arresting a person does not take the suspect to the station but instead issues a citation to him or her. The citation will indicate the given date on which the suspect has to appear before the judge. Generally, citations are issued for minor crimes like traffic violations. The decision of releasing a citation is on the arresting officer, one cannot fight or apply for the same.
Cash bail bonds
Cash bail bonds are simply bonds that are paid in cash. One can pay any bail in cash as long as they have the access to the amount needed. Most correction departments prefer to accept cash bail in cash only. While there are some that accept credit cards and cashier’s checks as well.
The entire process of applying for Social Security Disability Benefits can be quite a hassle, as it requires the individual to make multiple rounds of the Social Security Administration. This process can be more tedious in case the individual’s health is deteriorating. If such is the case, hiring a Social Security disability lawyer will prove beneficial because they are more equipped to help their clients present their case with better precision.
A Social Security disability lawyer is a licensed professional who is extremely skilled at handling matters pertaining to Social Security Administration and can deal with issues that can arise during the application process. In addition to helping their clients with their Social Security Disability Benefits, a Social Security disability lawyer has to perform the following functions:
Trademarks are a combination of unique words, images, or phrases that identify your business and grant intellectual property rights to the owner. While filing and paying for a trademark is not that expensive, you must understand that the attorney fees you incur for legal representation can stretch your finances to the limit. However, that does not mean people who cannot afford to pay may never get their trademark registered. There are quite a few workarounds to avail of your trademark benefit. Check these out!
Inventor and entrepreneur resources
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) provides affordable assistance for filing trademarks and patents. Several states offer free legal representation to simplify the process. A detailed list of countries that provide free services with the guarantee of legal protection for your brand or invention is made available on their official website. Filing directly with the USPTO is the cheapest way to get a trademark.
Common-law marks
There is a legal advantage to federally registering a trademark, especially in possible cases of property infringement. But there is a cheap way to get a brand with common-law marks, including the most popular (™) symbol. It identifies your claim on the design or logo you are currently using, without the need for federal registration. These are good marks offering fundamental protectable rights in the country, used by businesses and brands that may file for a trademark in the future to avail of legal rights altogether. Though essential, it is still one of the cheapest ways to get a brand.
Online legal assistance
The cost of legal assistance to apply, track, and monitor your trademark application is substantial only if you go through a law firm. However, many online legal resources hire independent attorneys with affordable quotes for specific and limited services. Places like legalzoom.com, ipwatchdog.com, onlinetrademarkattorneys.com, and legal-sherpa.com, to name a few, offer exclusive application and filing services for a small fee. Note that you incur these costs over and above the standard fees payable at the USPTO filing office.
Before you can explore the cheapest way to get a trademark, understand that the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office has the final say about accepting or rejecting your application. The process can take months from the initial application to notification of final status.
There are instances where one become callous of how serious the repercussions of their actions can be; these occurrences are quite common when one attends a party or other social events. People tend to go overboard and consume alcohol. Although there are no restrictions on the amount of alcohol one can consume, there definitely are restrictions on driving when one is drunk. According to the laws of the country, an individual is permitted to drive if their blood alcohol level ranges between 0.05% to 0.08%; any range higher than this, the person can be convicted for drunk driving, as it endangers the lives of pedestrians and other drivers.
If one ever gets involved in such an unfortunate situation, it is advisable to hire a DUI/DWI attorney. Driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while intoxicated (DWI) are criminal offenses, and one needs an attorney specializing in such cases to help them maneuver their way out of the situation. The advantages of hiring a DUI/DWI attorney are as follows:
It is imperative when faced with a DUI or DWI case to approach the DUI/DWI attorney and not just the family attorney since the former is more capable of understanding the nuances of such cases.
Estate planning requires you to be careful and meticulous while hiring an estate planning lawyer. After all, your property and estate are at stake. A good estate planning lawyer will ensure that there is a smooth transition in your will without any hassles caused to your family. To ensure this, you need to keep a few factors in mind. Here are a few useful tips to hire an estate planning lawyer.
The lawyer should have a legal malpractice insurance
A legal malpractice insurance indicates accountability. Having a legal malpractice insurance or a professional liability insurance is not mandatory across all states. However, if your estate planning lawyer has this insurance, you will be protected against any mistakes made by the lawyer or his associates working on your case. When you hire an estate planning lawyer who has a malpractice insurance, you and your heir will not be at the risk of losing anything.
The lawyer should have certifications and degrees from known law schools
The best lawyers come out from the best law schools. Law schools across the country are ranked according to a four-tier ranking system. When you are looking for estate planning lawyers, ask them from which law school did they get their law degree. Also, ask whether they have a specialization in wills and probate or trusts and estates.
The lawyer should be a member of a professional association
Ask whether your estate planning lawyer is a member of any professional associations, such as the National Association of Estate Planning Councils’ WealthCounsel. When your lawyer is a part of such an association, he is aware of all the latest developments and updates of estate planning. You will be assured that your lawyer has an extensive network that will be useful for your case.
The lawyer should give a clear disclosure of fees charged for services provided
Usually, lawyers do not clearly state the fees they will charge before they get to know the specifics of your case. However, you can ask them about an estimation of the fees they will charge. On the other hand, there are lawyers who straight out state a fixed fee, irrespective of the kind of case they have. Mostly, known as trust-mill law firms, be wary of such lawyers who may not be able to meet your or your family’s specific estate planning needs.
It can be a difficult process for one to get themselves out of custody. The bail system acts as a savior and helps one to get their loved ones out of custody fast. There are a variety of bonds that can secure one’s release from jail. Below are the different types of bail bonds that everyone must know about to help get custody fast.
Cash bond
As the name suggests, cash bonds are cash payments that allow one to get out of jail. In most instances, only cash is accepted by the corrections department. However, in some cases, cashier’s checks or credit cards can also be used to cover cash bails. Most people don’t tend to have large sums of money readily available to give to the correction department as in some cases thousands of dollars in cash are needed to cover bail fast. In such cases, one may have to seek the advice of a bail bondsman for the help they need.
Property bond
Property bonds may not be accepted in all states. However, in states like California, they are used occasionally. Different types of properties can be used, but real estate happens to be the one that is most commonly used. These bonds tend to be quite useful, especially, when one does not have cash available in hand to secure bail. The only drawback of property bond is that it takes time to obtain the same. One can be released from jail within a couple hours with the help of cash bonds. Whereas a property bond is handled directly by the court, there is an assessment of property value that is needed along with court hearing in order to receive the confirmation of the bond agreement. Hence, the whole process takes a span of a few weeks.
Federal bail bond
If one has been jailed under a federal crime, to secure the release, a federal bail bond is needed. Both cash, as well as property, can be used to obtaining federal bonds and they don’t require a bail bondsman. Similar to the property bonds, federal bail bonds are handled by the court directly.
Manufactured homes are the preferred choice of real estate in today’s day and date. There are a number of reasons why more and more people are leaning towards these prefabricated homes which offer all the living and comforts similar to traditional housing.
Here are a few benefits listed for your reference:
Price and affordability: Probably one of the biggest reason why people are leaning more towards buying prefabricated homes. Since the building material used in manufacturing these homes are cost effective, the final price of the finished home is also very low compared to what you would end up spending on a traditional home. The average cost for a manufactured home is almost one fourth of what you might pay for a traditional home. On an average a traditional single family home will cost anywhere upwards of $250,000 whereas a manufactured home might just be in the range of $60000. The cost per square foot is also less compared to traditional housing.
Efficient construction and building process: With traditional homes which are built and managed by contractors, which sometimes might not be a very well managed process, there are a number of things which may go or may not go according to plan. More delays will eventually mean you ending up spending more than what was decided for the project. This is not the case for manufactured homes since they are pre-fabricated and assembled on the factory floor with managers and supervisors each overseeing the smooth and controlled process.
Faster delivery and results: Manufactured home as mentioned earlier are built on the factory floor and to be directly transported to the site. This is a faster process compared to traditional housing because every element in the assembly line is a strict and rigid time bound process. Production lines on factory floors are timed to the millisecond and are a very efficient process, which is also one of the reason why these homes are so economical.
Flexibility: Manufactured homes are built and assembled on a particular layout which will appeal to the design specification of the client. This gives the client room for exploring a number of options before locking in on that floor layout and paint scheme. The more you can afford to spend, the better are the options with respect to what goes into your home.
Manufactured homes are not just always your trailer park homes, which is the typical stereotype hype. In fact manufactured home communities are great places to relocate, since more and more traditional homeowners are preferring prefabricated and manufactured homes.
There are various types and styles of designer watches ruling in the modern consumer market. All these watches are crafted with certain unique features which make them special in their usage in one way or another. There are digital watches which are becoming a growing trend among young people because its tell time in the exact number format. Some of the watches feature an hour and minute hand only, while others second hand as well. Light feature on the watches can help you to locate the keyhole in the dark and alarm build watches can work great in danger situations or in any medical emergency.
Watches are also acting as a fashion statement and definitely a necessity for people who are suffering from visual impairments. There are special kinds of watches which tell time with the voice activation feature. The manufacturers are targeting their consumers keeping in mind their exact requirement. A fashionable watch not only tells time but also work as a memento for a beautiful memory. Many corporate houses encourage their employees who have reached and achieved high success in their career or appreciate their retiring employees by presenting them with a fashionable watch.
Many women and men frequently change their watches because in their accessories collection watches play an important role. The manufacturers and designers completely understand this consumer perspective and that’s why they design watches in different styles, colors, features, wristbands satisfy clients of every age. Most of the consumers cannot afford to have a collection of expensive fashionable watches, but they do like to have timepieces which are reasonably priced. Most of the reputed retailers offer watch sets where consumers can interchange bands and faces. This way they can match their watch with many outfits without hoarding lots of expensive watches. Some of the websites even allow buyers to design their own watches online.
Watches have not only become a fashion statement, but they have also become jewelry for both men and women. In past pocket watches used to come with long chains and different faces and men used to carry them in their pockets rather than on a wrist. There are rings, bracelets, and necklaces with time feature available for both men and women. Most of the sports personalities like watches which can clip in their belt loops.
Fashionable watches can never go wrong when it comes to gifting one to your loved ones. I’m sure they not only love them but will also remember the beautiful and tough times you both have faced together.
While technology has pretty much touched all quarters of our lives, why should the field of medical science be left far behind? It comes as no surprise that in today’s day and age, one gets to see the use of technology for many medical functions starting from diagnosis of an ailment to the treatment of the same. Technology has also changed the way we store our medical records. We now have electronic medical records that can call up your complex medical charts at the touch of a button. So, what are these electronic medical records? Read on to know more!
Record information
An electronic medical record is a system commonly known as EMR. This system is a software that scans your documents and records the key information in various fields that may be customized as per the doctor, the hospital, the specialization or even the patient. Further, this kind of software can be used by individuals to maintain a database of the medical charts and papers for the entire family. The recording of information happens by data encryption before it is sent to a cloud based source where it is stored for further recall and use.
Track health metrics
With the help of the EMR software and system, the doctors and patients have a foolproof way of organizing medical records so that they may be used to track the progress and further treatment or diagnosis of the patient. With electronic medical records, the doctors can compare and find metrics which may be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of other ailments as well. For example, if a patient is suffering from any allergies, this will be a key field in the diagnosis and treatment of some other complex condition, accordingly, the doctor may prescribe the correct medication and treatment method.
Set a screening schedule
The overall practice of health care goes through a sea change of improvement with the electronic medical records, as the screening schedules are set and the patient is reminded of the same on a timely basis.
It would be helpful to get a medical record system like this for the whole family. You could also find out if your hospital or clinic already use one that you can also access.