How to trademark a name

Question

Accepted Answer

Under Arizona law, a "trademark" is any word, name, symbol or device, or combination, adopted and used to identify goods made or sold and distinguish them from those of others; a name used for services is a "service mark" . Here is the registration process for a name:

1. Confirm you qualify and that the name is in use. Any person domiciled in Arizona who adopts and uses a mark, or any person who adopts and uses a mark in Arizona, may apply . "Use" means bona fide use in the ordinary course of trade — a name is in use on goods when placed on the goods, containers, displays, tags or labels and the goods are sold, transported or distributed in Arizona, and in use on services when used or displayed in the sale or advertising of services rendered in Arizona .

2. Check that the name is registrable. A mark cannot be registered if it includes immoral, deceptive or scandalous matter; disparaging or falsely suggestive matter; flags or government insignia; a living individual's name, signature or portrait without written consent; matter that is merely descriptive, deceptively misdescriptive, or primarily geographically descriptive; a mark that is primarily merely a surname (unless it has become distinctive — the secretary of state may accept proof of substantially exclusive and continuous Arizona use for the five years before the application as prima facie evidence of distinctiveness); or a mark resembling an existing Arizona registration or unabandoned mark or trade name likely to cause confusion .

3. File the application with the Arizona Secretary of State on the form the secretary furnishes, including at least :
- Your name, email and business address (and state of incorporation, if a corporation) .
- The goods or services the name is used with, the manner of use, and the class of goods or services .
- The date the mark was first used anywhere and first used in Arizona by you or your predecessor .
- A statement that you own the mark and no one else has the right to use it in Arizona in identical or deceptively similar form .
- A statement that you conducted a search and found the mark does not resemble an existing Arizona registration or unabandoned mark or trade name in a way likely to cause confusion .
- Whether you previously sought federal registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and, if denied, the reasons .

4. Sign and include a specimen. The application must be signed by you (or a firm member or corporate/association officer) and accompanied by a specimen or facsimile of the mark in the format the secretary of state specifies by rule .

Scope note: The provided sources do not state the filing fee, the term or renewal period of an Arizona registration, or how long processing takes — so I cannot describe those. Also note that registering a *trade name* (as distinct from a trademark/service mark) is governed by a separate process only partially reflected here: trade name registration can give exclusive rights as against later corporate filings , but the sources provided do not set out the trade name application procedure. For federal trademark protection, which is governed by federal law rather than Arizona law, consult a licensed attorney.