2 ms·

I don't know about other countries, but in the US you get trademark protection just by claiming a trademark. That's when you put a little TM after the name. Y

by pg 17y ago

I don't know about other countries, but in the US you get trademark protection just by claiming a trademark. That's when you put a little TM after the name. You can also go a step further and get a registered trademark, which requires filing paperwork with the government. If they approve your application, you get to replace the TM with an R in a circle. We usually advise startups we fund that a TM is enough initially. That's all YC itself has. Even Google only has a TM in their logo-- though maybe they have a registered trademark, but think the R in a circle would look too stuffy.

ErrantX 17y ago
In a lot of states TM gives you very little leeway to enforce your rights (to the point of being inneffective at times). R is leaps and bounds better. Also remember federal trademark law gives a lot of weight to "first file" rather than "first use". So if another company files a registered TM on the same name YOU have to fight to stop them (and lose pretty much all legal rights over the name for the duration) & there is no guarantee to win - even if you used the name first :)