Patent Lawyer Chat: Trademark Help

You came up with a name for a business or brand, and now the questions start: can it be protected, is it already taken, where do you begin? This bot opens a chat with a personal lawyer who handles trademark registration. Press START and the conversation begins. ⚖️

The profile calls it the official chat of the company's lawyer. Instead of a form on a website, you talk in the messenger you already use.

What a patent lawyer helps with

A trademark protects a name, logo or another sign by which customers tell your products apart. The lawyer helps you travel from idea to application.

• Name check. Whether similar registered signs already exist.
• Choosing classes. A mark is registered for specific goods and services under an international classification.
• Filing. Preparing documents and dealing with the authority.
• Answering objections. The examination can ask for clarifications or refuse.

The road to registration

1. Search. First check whether the sign is free for the classes you need.
2. Application. Filed with the state intellectual property authority along with a description and a list of goods.
3. Examination. Formal requirements and the sign's eligibility for protection are checked.
4. Decision and registration. If the outcome is positive, the mark enters the register and you receive a certificate.

In Russia a registration lasts ten years from the filing date, and it can then be renewed.

Why waiting is risky

Rights to a mark in Russia arise through registration. If you build up a name and someone registers it first, you will be arguing from a weak position. Renaming after launch is expensive.

So run the check before you print packaging, order signage or start advertising.

What to bring to the conversation

• The name or the picture. The exact version you want to protect.
• Your business. Which goods you sell or services you provide.
• The applicant. A sole proprietor, a company or an individual.
• Your plans. Russia only, or other countries too.

Choosing a lawyer wisely

Before you pay, ask what the price includes: search, filing, replies to examiner requests, receiving the certificate. Ask for a contract and a written list of services.

State fees are paid separately, and their size depends on the number of classes. Check current amounts on the authority's official website.

Be wary of anyone promising a hundred percent registration. The examination decides, and nobody can guarantee the result.

Who the chat is for

Entrepreneurs, marketplace sellers, bloggers with their own brand, studios and startups. Anyone with a name worth protecting.