Rats. You spent so much time selecting your name, and you can’t use it. For one reason or another, you and your attorney have determined that you have to change your brand name: you received a cease-and-desist letter in the mail that contained some pretty valid claims; your application to federally register your trademark was rejected; or a trademark search revealed a third party that started using a similar name before you did. “But I love this name!” you proclaim. “I brainstormed, worked with a marketing company, surveyed my friends, Googled, and I purchased a domain name.” What’s a trademark owner to do?

Continue reading “You’re Not Cheating the Trademark System”