Trademark or Patent?

It seems that Boots, another cat on our street, got wind of Rusty’s idea for the cat toilet seat and has applied with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the rights to the name, The Cat Stool.

While Rusty’s pretty discouraged and a little depressed, you already know my position concerning this; I think it’s the wrong name and this is a blessing in disguise. Anyway, Boots is not a friend, he has a history of stealing and, frankly, as far as intellectual property goes and, as one of my favorite groups, Smash Mouth sings, he “ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Now, the first thing to determine is what type of protection you need for your product.

• Trademark – This protects names (such as company or product names), words (such as taglines), and symbols and colors (associated with logos or packaging) that separate goods and services manufactured or sold by one company with that of another company.
  
  
• Patent – This protects an invention, a process innovation, or specific product design and prohibits others from manufacturing, using, or selling it within the United States or importing it into the United States.
  
  
• Copyright – This protects works of authorship, such as writings such as (books or articles), music (such as lyrics or composition) and works of art (including photographs) that are tangible and us dogs can chew on when you’re not at home.

As far as CoolZips®, we chose to go the trademark route. Since there are many different zipper pulls out on the market and, even though ours are unique with multi-colored beads and cool charms, anyone could change the color or style of one bead and I would be a three-legged dog, not having a leg to stand on, trying to prove our case in court. You can register for your trademark online at http://www.uspto.gov/. It costs about $500 and it takes about six months to go through the approval process.

Furthermore, if we had come up with a specific process on how to mold our charms that was groundbreaking in the industry and would have given us a considerable competitive advantage, then that would have been worthwhile to patent. However, we were just interested in trade marking the name CoolZips so that no one else could use our name as their own. In addition, I think that a trademark, when someone sees the symbol ® after your company name, it lends credibility because you went through the extra effort and cost to protect yourself and your company.

Oh, and you may be wondering what the difference is between the ™ and ® trademark designations. Well, you can use the ™ designation to make the public aware of your trademark claim to rights whether or not you have filed an application with the USPTO. However, you may use the ® symbol only after the USPTO issues a federal registration, and not while an application is pending approval. In addition, you may only use the registered ® symbol in connection with the products or services listed in your federal trademark registration. Keep in mind that if you make any major change to your product or logo that is described in, and covered by, your existing registration, you may need to submit another registration to properly and legally protect your rights.

Now, if Rusty comes up with a new material or manufacturing process that creates a coating on The Cat Stool that resists fur from shedding and sticking to it, then I would suggest that he apply for a patent. Otherwise, I think that a trademark is sufficient.