Trademark attorney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A trademark attorney or in the alternative spelling trade mark attorney, also known as a trademark lawyer if qualified as a lawyer, is a person who is qualified to act in matters involving trademark law and practice.

The responsibilities of a trademark attorney include advising on the adoption and selection of new trademarks; filing and prosecuting applications to register trademarks; advising on the use and registration of trademarks; handling trademark oppositions, revocations, invalidations and assignments; and advising on trademark infringement matters.

Trademark attorneys are often regulated as a profession, in which case they must pass a series of examinations, comply with other requirements, and observe professional ethics and standards in order to maintain formal registration as a trademark attorney.

This is typically the position in Commonwealth jurisdictions such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, where only qualified individuals may hold themselves out as being trademark attorneys. In such cases the qualification is known as an 'exclusive' or 'protected' title.

There is no exclusive title in other jurisdictions such as the United States, where no specialized examinations are required in order to qualify and practice as a trademark attorney. Instead, any lawyer who is licensed to practice in at least one state may prosecute trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).