Ask HN: Should I trademark prior to Y Combinator?

Re:Ask HN: Should I trademark prior to Y Combinator? by chaostheory on Friday April 21, 2017 @01:55PM (#14167711)

I could be wrong, but if you're doing the application yourself, it's under $500 for filing. Chances are you'll need a lawyer, and that's under $1000; separate from filing.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Should I trademark prior to Y Combinator? by adventured on Friday April 21, 2017 @02:02PM (#14167772)

You can easily do a trademark these days using services like LegalZoom for about $500 (includes the Federal fee). No separate lawyer necessary.

https://www.legalzoom.com/business/intellectual-property/tra...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Should I trademark prior to Y Combinator? by chaostheory on Friday April 21, 2017 @02:55PM (#14168289)

The reason you may need the lawyer is when the USPTO disputes your application... multiple times. This probably depends on who's reviewing your application as well.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Should I trademark prior to Y Combinator? by pbreit on Friday April 21, 2017 @02:35PM (#14168091)

Or just do it yourself: https://www.uspto.gov/trademark

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Should I trademark prior to Y Combinator? by Animats on Friday April 21, 2017 @05:02PM (#14169409)

I've done that. I hold the trademarks ANIMATS (supplemental register), SITETRUTH, and DOWNSIDE. I have the domains "animats.com", "sitetruth.com", and "downside.com". Those were all obtained simply by filing directly with the USPTO. Unless you're in a crowded area of the namespace, trademarks aren't hard.

Owning a trademark gives you strong rights in domain name disputes. This is effective even if there's someone else who's a big name in a different business area. See ICANN's UDRP.

[ Parent | on HN ]