Trading Trademark as a Business Potention
Trademark is essential for showing a business’s product image. Therefore, many companies compete to strengthen their trademark with strict legal protection, so irresponsible parties do not carelessly imitate or use their trademarks.
Today, various online platforms take advantage of the business sector’s awareness of trademarks. Those platforms provide the get ready-to-use trademark for business services for their customers. There are three new online platforms that currently claim to have sold thousands of trademark registrations in the United States, those are TrademarkSea, Trademarkoo, and IPLee.
Quoting from the USPTO website, WTR Investigations have identified three new online platforms: TrademarkSea, Trademarkoo, and IPLee, which have sold thousands of US trademark registrations. The Hong Kong-based website owner revealed that there had been over 800 successful transactions so far and claimed that any trademark listings placed under USPTO sanctions would be removed. Owner Xie confirmed to WTR that most of the trademark owners are from China, while most current trademark buyers are mainly from the US and China.
At first glance, these online platforms are seen as an innovation of new business opportunities. However, USPTO director Kathi Vidal said:
“Purchasing legal rights from an online marketplace is always risky, which is why we advise extreme caution when dealing with marketplaces attempting to sell US trademark registrations. These registrations are often invalid, or the registration transfer may have been handled in such a way as to render the acquired registration unenforceable. To avoid costly mistakes, potential purchasers should consult a qualified trademark attorney to assess the validity of the registration or underlying application, properly record the assignment, and handle the transfer of goodwill issues.”
Preventing Actions
- Consult with an expert regarding the risks and impacts that may arise to your business;
- Conduct due diligence before deciding to purchase a registered trademark for your business;
- Make sure that the trademark-selling platform provides a registered and legal product;
- If a trademark from the online platform is not valid for registration, immediately contact the IP attorney to take further legal action or even ask for damages to the said platform;
- If you find that another party already owns the registered mark, you must immediately take further legal action or even ask for compensation from the platform.
From these cases, we can conclude that buying registered trademarks online may seem easier. However, the digital world often has characteristics like two coins. Despite the convenience, there can also be deficiencies that can cause losses. Therefore, preventive and countermeasures need to be taken to avoid adverse disputes.
If you want to consult about trademarks, so your business can progress safely, we at Am Badar & Am Badar can be the right place. As a quality IP service provider with 57 years of experience in Indonesia, we are ready to assist you in legalizing your business trademark. We do not only serve the mark registration process but also the monitoring process to prevent potential disputes in the future.
To get quality IP services according to your business conditions, contact us at ambadar@ambadar.co.id
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