Trademark registration in Illinois. The Illinois Country was a vast region of New France claimed in the 1600s in what is now the Midwestern United States. Much of the Illinois Country region became an organized territory of the United States with the establishment of the Northwest Territory in 1787. In 1803, the old Illinois Country area west of the Mississippi was gained by the U.S. in the Louisiana Purchase. Since then, Illinois has thrived as a constituent state of the United States of America and is known for being one of the most populated states in the country, and also one of the most multifaceted states. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this area is to learn the procedure of trademark registration in Illinois.
Conduct a trademark search in Illinois
Before filing for a trademark application, the applicant should conduct a trademark search to eliminate future problems such as duplicate trademarks, lawsuits, and possible financial loss.
This can be done by the applicants themselves or with the help of the Illinois Secretary of State website which provides an online portal where applicants can find detailed information about trademarks.
Through the resource offered by the Illinois Secretary of State, the applicants can receive in-depth research about the registration number, the type of trademark, and the description of that trademark which is highly similar or identical to the trademark of the applicants.
After that, they can decide a plan to continue to file for registration despite the risk, or they can abandon that trademark and find other marks which are more promising.
On the other hand, the applicant can consult a renowned trademark expert and receive a consultation and advice to simplify the whole process and greatly increase the chance of successful trademark registration in Illinois.
Requirement for trademark registration in Illinois
In order to obtain trademark registration in Illinois, the applicant needs to complete and file Form TM/SM-15, the State of Illinois Trademark or Service Mark Application, and submit adequate application fees.
In the application, the applicant must clearly specify he/she is a business or individual. If they are businesses, they must declare in detail accurately about whether they are a corporation, partnership, or LLC, etc.
Specifically, the applicant has to provide the following information including:
- A description of the products or services of the mark;
- Details on how the mark is being used;
- An illustration and model of the brand’s mark that shows how it will be used.
Note:
The trademark registration process through the state of Illinois is cheaper and simpler than registering through the USTPO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) because the whole processing time is a lot quicker, normally taking about four to six weeks to complete.
However, like national registration in other countries, the registration process through the state of Illinois has many disadvantages such as the lack of power when dispute incurs or the georaphical restrictions, etc.
Accordingly, the applicants can find another way of registering a trademark in Illinois which is through the USPTO.
Nonetheless, the registration through the USPTO also has a bad point which is time consuming. Normally, it will take about several months to years to complete the trademark registration process, i.e. on the basis that there are no problems incurs during the process.
Choosing the right way to go with the trademark registration in illinois depended entirely on the purpose and the goal that the applicant wants to achieve in Illinois. Regardless, before deciding on the path to go, it is best to consult a renowned IP firm to receive advice and recommendation.
You can see a list of Illinois IP firms here.