When do trademarks expire?

(FSB Magazine) -- Dear FSB: How long does it take to obtain a trademark? And how long will one protect my idea? --Chuck Christenson II, CBC Industries Columbus, Neb.

Dear Chuck: Getting a trademark through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office takes about 15 months. It's pretty cheap: The initial application fee is $375 to file on paper and $325 electronically. For all the details, go to http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm.

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You don't need a lawyer to get a trademark, but it would be worth your while to retain one to defend it. Your trademark is valid forever as long as a stern letter from your lawyer warns any would-be imitators that they are infringing on it.

"The key is constant vigilance," says Richard Mallsby, a USPTO spokesman. "The big companies behind trademarked brands like Band-Aid and Styrofoam all have lawyers who are careful to keep those names from becoming generic terms."

Once a brand name passes into such common usage that no one regards it as a proper noun anymore, its trademark can be ruled invalid, and anyone can capitalize on all the marketing you've put into it. (That's what happened to "Escalator": The company that owned the name let it become synonymous with moving staircases, and lost the trademark.)

Have you trademarked an idea? Did you have an idea that was stolen before you were able to trademark it? Post your thoughts on the Ask FSB blog.

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