advice on trademarks...

[i_need_advice01]

We have a site on internet which gives a service on internet, we are no-profit but do feel we need to protect our name as we plan to have it online in 10 years as well and don't want to find ourself in any courthouse because of some idiot who feels funny to register our name for him/her self.

However before i hand over $300 for a trademark/servicemark admission i like to know in how many countries is that mark valid?
Or do i have to apply in europe and asia as well?

I know some countries don't care about these marks but neither impose any direct threat to what we are doing and want to keep doing, that is like here giving each other advice on various topics without asking money.

I just want to know if it is of any use at all to apply for one...
Like i say, we are not what you call rich and even $300 is a pretty large sum.

Thanks in front for your help...

 

[T-DESIGNER]

I am not an attorney, and I do not know the answer to your
question.

I don't know if the internet service providers can do this,
but it might be possible to block a URL and location from
being recognized by the various web browsers and search
engines, when a URL is in violation of a trademark. I
would think it would require knowing the location of the real
URL. If your service is being offered worldwide, it would
require cooperation by foreign service providers, etc.

Unless you are talking about a symbol as being a
trademark versus the name of your organization, I would
think you would only have to worry about English speaking
countries, which makes me wonder, can someone trademark
a foreign name with the USPTO? So your question seems
valid. If you want to prevent your trademark from being
used by anyone else on earth, do you have to register your
trademark in each and every country?

You might try and contact the United Nations. Someone in
their organization might be able to answer your question.
You might also try writing your congressman.

 

[i_need_advice01]

I see that i didn't ask my question clear enough, toherwise i would get some answers and not more questions like now...

To stay short...

I am not a inhibitant of USA but i do live in the western hemisphere and USA has influence on all we do...

I want to protect our name to be sure that if some nitwit tries to take away the name or wants to sue us will bite the dust...

We as non-profit organisation need extra protection from sharks who see money in what we do and try to take it away from us...

Will a trademark or service mark give us the proper weight to keep those people away from us?

What countries will recognise it as such or do i need to apply in more country's for the same mark.

 

[T-DESIGNER]

http://www.wipo.org/

"The WIPO, unlike other United Nations specialized agencies,
generated sufficient revenue to fund 85 per cent of its annual
expenditures, which were around $150 million a year, he said.
Its revenue came primarily from international registration services
provided to enterprises and individual inventors or researchers.
The registration system allowed an inventor to file an
international application or request for protection in specified
countries -- thus saving time and money. The service, which had
increased by 15 to 20 per cent over the last eight years, also
covered international application of trademarks and industrial designs. "


http://srch1.un.org/plweb-cgi/fastweb?state_id=1019259718&view=unsearch&numhitsfound=18&query=trademark&&docid=400&docdb=br1998&dbname=web&sorting=BYRELEVANCE&operator=adj&TemplateName=predoc.tmpl&setCookie=1

 

[i_need_advice01]

Thanks for the info and track you put me on...

 

[counsel]

The company (hopefully yours!) which is the first to USE a trademark in the U.S. owns that mark within the U.S. However, there are real advantages to obtaining a U.S. federal trademark registration.

If you register in the U.S., this gives "constructive notice" to everyone that it is your mark, so it makes it easier to sue others using the name or to defend against a bogus trademark infringement suit.

Companies with a website are considered to do business world-wide. Thus, if you just get a U.S. registration, you may still be able to sue someone in another country who has a website if they are also doing business in the U.S.

However, it is also true that almost all countries have their OWN trademark registration system (the European Union also has a "community-wide" trademark which is cost-effective), and so for-profit companies which do business world-wide usually obtain trademarks in all of the countries they do business in.

Being a non-profit, I understand that money is short. You might start with the U.S. and defer other counties until later.

 

[i_need_advice01]

Thanks for your clear answer...