US Trademark Registration Attorney

Usually yes, provided the mark is distinctive enough and not confusingly similar to an existing US mark in your goods or services. Your Turkish registration does not automatically carry over, but it can serve as the basis for a US filing under Section 44 or via the Madrid Protocol. Two things worth checking first: whether the name has an unintended meaning or pronunciation issue in English, and whether the mark would be considered descriptive once translated, because the USPTO applies the doctrine of foreign equivalents.

A straightforward application typically takes roughly 12 to 18 months from filing to registration, with the initial examination alone often taking several months before you hear anything. If an office action is issued, expect to add several months more; if an opposition is filed after publication, considerably more. Intent-to-use applications take longer still because registration waits until you file evidence of actual use in US commerce.

A use-based application requires that you are already selling the goods or services in US commerce and can submit a specimen proving it; an intent-to-use application lets you file before launch to lock in an earlier priority date. The catch with intent-to-use is that registration does not issue until you later file a statement of use with a specimen, with additional fees and deadlines. For a Turkish brand not yet selling in the US, intent-to-use is usually the right choice.

Cover the goods and services you actually sell today plus what you will genuinely launch within the near term, rather than filing defensively across every class that might one day be relevant. Fees are charged per class, so each additional class adds real cost, and overbroad descriptions invite refusals or later cancellation for non-use. A clearance search first will also show where your competitors are registered, which often reveals which classes actually matter in your sector.

Your options depend on how similar the marks are and how strong the prior registration is: you may be able to differentiate your mark or narrow your goods description, negotiate a coexistence agreement with the prior owner, challenge the registration if it is vulnerable for non-use or was obtained improperly, or rebrand before you have invested further. The costly mistake is discovering the conflict after launch, which is why a clearance search before you commit to the name is worth far more than it costs.

Purely descriptive names are refused registration on the Principal Register because they tell consumers what the product is rather than identifying its source. Such a mark may be registered on the Supplemental Register and can eventually qualify for the Principal Register if it acquires distinctiveness through substantial use, typically over years. Suggestive names — which hint at a quality without describing it — are the practical sweet spot: protectable and still marketable.

An office action is a formal refusal or objection from the examining attorney, and receiving one is common rather than fatal — many are resolved successfully. Procedural objections about the goods description or specimen are usually straightforward to fix; a refusal based on likelihood of confusion with a prior mark is more substantive and requires a legal argument, and sometimes an amendment or coexistence agreement. There is a firm deadline to respond, and missing it abandons the application.

On its own, no — trademark rights are territorial, so a Türkiye registration does not prevent someone from using or registering the same mark in the United States. What it does give you is a filing basis: under Section 44(d) you can claim priority from your Turkish application if you file in the US within six months, and under Section 44(e) you can base a US registration on your Turkish one without proving US use at the outset.

The fastest route is Amazon's own enforcement channel — enroll in Brand Registry, which requires a registered or pending trademark, then submit infringement reports through the brand protection tools. This typically works faster than litigation. If the seller persists or the infringement is substantial, escalate with a cease and desist letter and, where warranted, a federal lawsuit. Registration is the gatekeeper here: without it, your options on the platform are very limited.

Start with the word mark if you only register one, because it protects the name in any font, color, or styling and is broader in practice. Register the logo separately when the design itself carries recognition, when you sell in markets where the visual is the main identifier, or when the name alone is weak or descriptive. Many brands file the word mark first and add the design mark once the logo has stabilized, since a redesign can require a new filing.

There are two recurring obligations: a declaration of continued use filed between the fifth and sixth year after registration, and a combined renewal and use declaration every ten years thereafter. Each requires a specimen showing current use of the mark in US commerce. Missing either cancels the registration permanently — there is a short grace period with an added fee, but no reinstatement after that, and re-filing means losing your original priority date.

Budget for USPTO filing fees charged per class plus attorney fees, and expect that the total for a single-class, straightforward application typically lands in the low four figures. Costs increase with additional classes, a clearance search, responding to an office action, or filing a statement of use for an intent-to-use application. Ask for a fee schedule that separates the flat-fee filing work from the contingent items, so you know what a refusal would add.

Yes — trademarks can be assigned or licensed, and both are common in distribution, franchising, and acquisitions. Two rules matter: an assignment generally must include the goodwill of the business associated with the mark, because assigning a mark alone can invalidate it, and a license must include quality control provisions over the licensee's use. A license with no meaningful quality control risks being treated as a "naked license," which can result in loss of the mark entirely. Record assignments with the USPTO.

The Madrid Protocol is an international system that lets you file one application through your home office — in Türkiye, TÜRKPATENT — and extend protection to multiple member countries including the United States. It is efficient and cost-effective when you are seeking protection in several countries at once. The drawback for a US-focused strategy is the dependency period: if your Turkish base registration is cancelled within five years, the international registration falls with it. If the US is your primary market, a direct US filing is often the safer route.

If you live outside the US you cannot file alone; USPTO requires a licensed US attorney for foreign-domiciled applicants, so a self-filing is refused on that ground before anyone looks at your mark. Beyond that rule, the work that decides the outcome happens before filing: a clearance search, the class and description you choose, and whether your mark is distinctive enough to register at all. Filing fees are non-refundable, so a refused application costs you the fee, the months, and the priority date.