The trademark rights granted by the United States patent office is only valid in the United States and it has no effect in other countries, so if you are an inventor looking to extend your trademark protection into other countries, you will have to apply for patent in those countries or in their respective patent lawyers. Every countries has their patent law and it is a must to apply for patent in a country if you truly want trademark protection in that country, and such patent must be filed according to the requirements of the country just like it is done in the United States. You should also be aware that local laws apply to patent and copyrights.
How do you apply for trademark protection abroad?
Lots of small and medium scale companies and businesses usually get to have some sort of difficulties in foreign trademark protection, and that includes China. This is because most people don’t know how to get and enforce trademark rights in foreign countries. Here are some basic and cost effective tips you should always consider as a company or business.
- It is advisable to work with the appropriate legal counsel to develop your trademark protection plans.
- How to develop detailed trademark languages for subcontracting and licensing contracts
- How to go about a due diligence of potential partners in foreign countries and the US commercial services can be of help one this one.
- How to record your trademark which has been registered in the US copyrights and trademarks with custom and border protection and
- How t o secure and register a patent, copyright and trademarks in the major foreign markets, and this must be done defensively in countries where patent violation are common.
How to register trademark, patent or copyright abroad
Trademarks and patents are always territorial and you should always file them in the respective countries where you seek protection. As said earlier, your US patent and trademark will not protect your brand or product in another country. You should always contact an intellectual property office in the country where you wish to apply for patent or trademark protection. However, The PTC (patent cooperation treaty) helps streamline the process of applying for patent and trademarks in many countries. If you file one trademark or patent with the USPTO (US patent and trademark office), you can easily seek protection in over 143 countries around the world.
Furthermore, most countries don’t require patent or copyright registration to enjoy copyright of patent protection, but registering your patent or trademark might offer quite a number of advantages, this includes proof of ownership and many more. The US has patent and copyright relations with lots of countries around the world and these countries honor each other’s citizen patent and copyrights.