Trademark question

Hi Lee

Firstly - I'm not a lwayer but I have had a couple of discussions with them in the past, so this information shouldn't be relied on without talking to a professional in the field.

I take it you're looking at 'registering' a trademark so that you can use the
® symbol.

It is costly and the cost depends largely on where you want the registered mark to cover. (e.g. UK only, Europe wide (CTM), USA, etc. - note there is no mechanism for worldwide coverage).

I'd advise going through an agent or copyright/trademark law firm as they know the ground and all the 'details' that come with industry experience.

Just in case you weren't aware of it you can use the 'TM' at any time to identify that a particular sign is being used as a trademark of your business but you can't use a '®' unless you're registered. (At least this applies to the UK)

I'm not sure about the marketing the game while filing for the trademark. My gut reaction says you can as I seem to remember being told that the 'date of filing' is used for any legal discussions later on.

As for how long the process takes - it's a while, months-years rather than days-weeks.

Like I said at the beginning though - I'm not a lawyer so get some professional advise.

A speculative email to an appropriate law firm may get you some 'pointers' at least.

Hope this helps.

Carl