Sell a trademark?
July 26, 2005 2:58 PM Subscribe
A relative of mine has come up with a perfect acronym. Is there money to be made?
She came up with a 5 letter acronym that I think may be worth something. I think the acronym could be used as a magazine title or event. I wish i could tell the acronym to see if I'm totally off my rocker. I'm wondering if there is a way to 'sell' the idea for this acronym she's had. Can I trademark the acronym and expansion of the acronym and then try to sell it? Or am i just getting excited for nothing? I feel like the folks that register a domain name and then sit waiting for it to sell. If I do decide to trademark it, is trademarking a complicated or hard process? Thanks for the info.
She came up with a 5 letter acronym that I think may be worth something. I think the acronym could be used as a magazine title or event. I wish i could tell the acronym to see if I'm totally off my rocker. I'm wondering if there is a way to 'sell' the idea for this acronym she's had. Can I trademark the acronym and expansion of the acronym and then try to sell it? Or am i just getting excited for nothing? I feel like the folks that register a domain name and then sit waiting for it to sell. If I do decide to trademark it, is trademarking a complicated or hard process? Thanks for the info.
pmbuko is generally correct. Trademarks are pretty much limited to "marks used in commerce", but nowadays you can register first and then actually engage in commerce with it within a short period of time afterward. The system intentionally makes it difficult to "reserve" marks to prevent speculation on future names and to prevent people from locking-up all the good ones.
On the other hand, nowadays just buy the domain and you accomplish a lot of the same task.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 3:10 PM on July 26, 2005
On the other hand, nowadays just buy the domain and you accomplish a lot of the same task.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 3:10 PM on July 26, 2005
Best answer: Some more facts about trademarks and the process of obtaining one.
posted by pmbuko at 3:11 PM on July 26, 2005
posted by pmbuko at 3:11 PM on July 26, 2005
Yeah, I think you actually have to sell some kind of product or service under the mark before you can register it. Other than actually registering domain names I don't think there's a lot you can do in this situation, but IANAL.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:13 PM on July 26, 2005
posted by Rhomboid at 3:13 PM on July 26, 2005
I feel like the folks that register a domain name and then sit waiting for it to sell.
Is the domain available? It would be another way to strengthen your ownership claim. If it is taken, is it used as an acronym?
I thought the acronym was ITMTBM. Heh.
posted by geekyguy at 6:04 PM on July 26, 2005
Is the domain available? It would be another way to strengthen your ownership claim. If it is taken, is it used as an acronym?
I thought the acronym was ITMTBM. Heh.
posted by geekyguy at 6:04 PM on July 26, 2005
Response by poster: Thanks for the info folks. geekyguy, the sad thing is I had to read my own post 3 times to find ITMTBM, sigh, long day.
posted by tayknight at 6:38 PM on July 26, 2005
posted by tayknight at 6:38 PM on July 26, 2005
IANAL, but as I understand it, you can't have a trademark that's not attached to a specific product or service you provide.
The trademark registration includes the "date of first use" of the trademark. This can be a date in the future (e.g. for a product under development) but you can't have a trademark without the product.
Perhaps you can get away with a relatively inspecific plan for a future product or service? You'd have to seek professional help on how to pull that off, I think.
posted by winston at 6:57 PM on July 26, 2005
The trademark registration includes the "date of first use" of the trademark. This can be a date in the future (e.g. for a product under development) but you can't have a trademark without the product.
Perhaps you can get away with a relatively inspecific plan for a future product or service? You'd have to seek professional help on how to pull that off, I think.
posted by winston at 6:57 PM on July 26, 2005
I see people in the south wearing G.R.I.T.S. (Girl Raised in the South) T-shirts and hats. Someone's making money off of that.
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:13 PM on July 26, 2005
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:13 PM on July 26, 2005
Well, if it is worth anything, it's just an acronym idea, and the most someone would pay for the idea is maybe $500-$1000. As previous posters have said, though, it's pretty impossible to legally protect an acronym idea. (Which, IMO, is a good thing.) And without being able to protect it, it's going to be pretty hard to "sell" it. So your only real option, if you think it's really that brilliant, is to use it yourself, and trademark.
Or just tell us what it is and be done with it. :)
posted by trevyn at 10:01 PM on July 26, 2005
Or just tell us what it is and be done with it. :)
posted by trevyn at 10:01 PM on July 26, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pmbuko at 3:07 PM on July 26, 2005