The United States Patent and Trademark Office passed the Trademark Modernization Act in 2020 and began implementing it in 2021. This is a new law that affects the way that Minneapolis business owners can take care of their brand. Since your brand is vital to your bottom line, it’s worth taking the time to learn about this legislation.
The TMA helps to remove illegitimate trademarks
There are a number of ways in which the new act will coincide with existing business and commercial law. For example, the new law can be used by business owners to help get rid of marks that they are not currently making use of. It streamlines the deletion process.
You should also note that the TMA will make it easier for you to rid yourself of competing for illegitimate marks. These are marks that may have been acquired through fraudulent means. The new law has been designed to speed up the process of suspect mark deletion that would otherwise take months to go through.
The TMA makes some procedures easier to complete
The passage of the TMA has made it easier for businesses to complete some of the procedures that are necessary to protect their marks. This has been seen as a victory for owners who are struggling to protect their intellectual property.
In addition, the time you are given to respond to certain decisions made by the office has been extended. You now have up to three months to respond. There is still the matter of paying $125 to receive this extension.
Judgments concerning trademark infringement have now been made much more favorable to the owner of the mark. The amount of evidence that has to be presented to the court to prove infringement has been lowered. This allows the brand owner to seek relief via an injunction.