Trademarks & Service Marks

Obtained By Attorney Jeffrey Sokol

Attorney Sokol has filed and obtained hundreds of Federal and State Trademark Registrations, and has procured many foreign Registrations throughout the world. Under U.S. Law, trademarks arise out of the use of a mark to identify the source of the goods or services sold under the mark. Common law rights vest in the use of the mark. Still, there are many benefits in obtaining a federal registration. The main benefits are nationwide coverage, the presumption of validity, incontestability after 5 years of registration, and notice to competitors of your rights.

Attorney Sokol assists clients with determining the availability of trademarks, service marks and trade dress, and registering those marks with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and throughout the world. He has experience in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and has successfully litigated registered and common law marks and trade dress cases in federal court. He provides these services for a wide variety of fields, including clothing, paper products, sporting goods, computer and electronic products, household and automotive goods, as well as the retail, wholesale and web based marketing of those and other consumer goods and services.

While Attorney Sokol recommends pre-filing searches to help ensure registrations are readily obtained, he also understands that this is not always possible for a variety of reasons. Start ups and newly formed companies operating on limited budgets often begin using their marks prior to filing trademark applications or obtaining clearance searches. Some valuable marks also go unnoticed, such as packaging and product configuration trade dress. In other situations, clients see value in a particular mark, and are willing to pursue the procurement of more challenging registrations or defend their existing registrations against competitors adopting similar marks. When these situations occur, Attorney Sokol has an established record of favorable outcomes.