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If only trademark registration was as simple as domain-name registration, you'd be in business. Unfortunately, there is no easy online form to set up a trademark -- it's a bit more complicated than that. However, you can get background information and download printable forms at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. On the upside, the site does include PrinTEAS, a preliminary version of an online trademark application system. Right now, you can fill out and validate the form online, but you'll still have to submit it by mail. Despite the increasing number of application options, registering a trademark will likely remain a complex legal process. So in the end, if you want trademark protection, you're probably best advised to employ the services
of a lawyer that specializes in intellectual property. Back to your case, Karla: You may not in fact need a trademark just yet. Trademarks protect your corporate identity, specifically the name, slogans, images and marks associated with your company's "brand." So, how about a patent? Nope, not really. A patent is for "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvements thereof." So, unless your recipe is for cold fusion, you probably aren't in the market for a patent. How about copyright? Sorry. Copyright is generally reserved for artistic endeavors like books, music, plays and such. Our advice: Set up a business that produces your food, use trademarks to protect the brand identity of your company, and keep your recipe a
closely guarded secret.
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