"[T]rademark lawyers can help you during the application process with several things that could seriously impact your trademark rights" -U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Sure, you can file your own trademark application, but just because you can, it doesn't mean you should. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, here are five reasons to hire a trademark lawyer to file your trademark application:

1. Although the Trademark Office will try to help you during the process, they can't give you legal advice. Without an attorney, you are on you own for the toughest decisions.

2. A trademark lawyer handles the trademark application process on your behalf and assists in properly articulating the goods or services associated with your trademark.

3. An experienced trademark attorney can effectively respond to any refusals to register your trademark.

4. A trademark attorney can keep you out of hot water by performing a search of existing trademarks and advising you on any risks of using or attempting to register your trademark.

5. The Trademark Office will not keep others from using your trademark. An attorney can keep an eye out for improper uses of your trademark and knows how to stop others from using your trademark.

A recent study by University of North Carolina School of Law backs up the USPTO's recommendation. Among other things, it found that trademark applications prosecuted by an experienced attorney were over 45% more likely to be published by the USPTO than applications filed by inexperienced non-attorney applicants. For a deep dive, you can read the entire study here.

The lawyers at Trademarkology provide online trademark registration services backed by the experience and service of one of the nation's oldest law firms. Click here to begin the process of protecting your brand name with a federally registered trademark.