California no longer has a “local” market. A Los Angeles skin care brand sells online to customers from New York, Texas and beyond. A San Francisco tech company gets their product to 40 states on their first order. Brand protection done at the state level (such as filing with the California Secretary of State) only applies in California. Once someone else in another state starts using your name, you’re in trouble unless you are registered with the USPTO.

The filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) sets your priority date across the country. It also places your mark in the USPTO’s database, preventing others from registering a similar mark in the future. In California in particular, where startups are prolific and brand copying rampant in the consumer goods industry, early action is key to success.

Regional consideration: California courts are known for being very protective of trademark rights, especially in fashion, tech and food/beverage industries. Having a registered trademark greatly enhances your ability to enforce your rights in California state court and in federal district courts in the Ninth Circuit, responsible for many IP cases.

Trademark Hurdles in California
A common issue for California applicants from tech to consumer brands is descriptiveness. Product names that describe the product, such as “QuickShip”, “ClearSkin” and “SmartPay”. The USPTO may refuse to register your mark as being merely descriptive of goods or services. If you create your brand name with distinctiveness or use a suggestive name, you can avoid this problem.

In particular, likelihood-of-confusion refusals are relatively common in the entertainment and media sector because International Class 41 (entertainment services) is very saturated. If you are creating a brand in the creative industries in California, a pre-filing search in the classes you want to cover is essential.

To register a California trademark you first file with the USPTO, not a state form. US Trademark Registration (USTML) conducts the search, files the application, responds to office actions and registers your trademark. California trademarks must be renewed between 5-6 years and then at 10 years or they expire. USTML stays on top of the deadlines and renews your California trademark on time. Don’t risk losing your registration. Your California trademark could be being infringed upon. Our monitoring service will check new applications, internet usage and potential infringement. Grow and Protect Your Brand in California. united states trademark registrations and law (USTML) assists California companies with the registration, renewal and monitoring of their trademarks with national protection. Start today.