Branding, Copyrights & Trademarks

Brand Domination. You create the brand, we protect it. At Rockridge®, we know the investment and effort that goes into creating a market presence and developing a quality offering. We help growing companies exploit trademark law to position themselves as a top player in the market. We work with branding companies to evaluate business and product name selection; evaluate competitive companies for opposition and hurdles; and strategize to reach optimal brand awareness. 

Generating a strong trademark continually proves to be one of the most difficult tasks when developing new business names, logos or products. Too often, new companies pick names based on what seems easy to advertise — which may not align with the name’s ability to register. RVL® helps you understand all trademark considerations and makes them work for you. We manage the dual task of protecting your ideas from infringement, while also protecting you from outside claims of infringement. Our spectrum of trademark-related services include… 

Trademark Search

Google’s algorithmic eyes will only take you so far in identifying the business names, product names, and logos you’ll want to avoid. We’ve got you covered with trademark-specific databases and search platforms that comb not just ecommerce and store shelves, but also corporate pre-market pipelines.

Trademark Search Opinion + Freedom to Operate

Trademark law is the law of confusion and dilution. It’s about far more than just avoiding the names, phrases and graphics you see on store shelves. We’ll advise on the how and why of what to avoid prior to your launch.

Trademark Prosecution +  Trademark Registration

Here’s a free tip: Examiners are government employees with quota-based metrics for advancement. Examiners have limited time to spend with your application and might actually be incentivized to act against you by the nature of the system. From the outset, we use this information, along with extensive knowledge and experience, to position your trademark application for success.

Trademark Licensing

One of the best parts of creating a successful brand? Reaping the profits. But we know this business is still your baby. When you want to retain some control without selling everything you’ve worked for, it’s time to talk about licensing. We’ll help you maneuver these deals with even the largest companies. You won’t get stepped on once we step in. 

Trademark Strategy

What new brands and products are your competitors launching? Do you need to pursue state or federal trademark registration, and what exactly is the difference? Is your brand strategy helping you build a robust trademark portfolio? How should your approach change within international markets? We’re here to develop an optimal strategy for your venture.

Read more here about what makes a good trademark. 

Trademark Oppositions + Cancellations

Opposition and cancellation proceedings are quasi-litigations brought by third parties that don’t want you to register trademarks or maintain your registrations. Practically speaking, in many cases, oppositions and cancellations are brought by large corporations aggressively policing their brand portfolios.

An opposition occurs when a third party files a challenge in the form of a complaint against a trademark application that has received a green light from a trademark examiner for publication and registration.

A cancellation in brought by a third party in an attempt to terminate a previously registered mark. This may be launched by an upstart wanting to knock your trademark out of the way for that challenger’s own mark to register, or it may be brought by a competitor that has been monitoring your activities and looking for a chink in your brand armor.

When these situations arise, RVL® helps you go to battle and take all the reciprocal actions that best support your company and brand.

Creative Protection. Artistry deserves protection, and at Rockridge®, we help clients explore and optimize their creative assets, whether those assets be proprietary software or spirited animations. Copyright registrations are a rich resource to any business portfolio and carry significant market leverage. Understanding what creative rights are held and can be utilized to stimulate economic growth are what we do best. 

When defending against infringement, we provide entrepreneurs that have accidentally stumbled upon the rights of creatives a beneficial understanding of copyright law and a pathway forward. Our goal is to work with rights holders to meet a mutual understanding of events and steer both parties away from the courtroom and back to activities they do best. If you find yourself in a tough situation where another’s rights may have been compromised, we’ll guide you toward a solution. 

Below is a categorization of our brand toolkit offerings:

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