Enforce your trademark against copycats.
Defend your brand against knockoffs and copycats with anything from a cease-and-desist letter to a proceeding at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Starting at $2,495 for a cease-and-desist letter or takedown
If someone is using your trademark without permission, the usual first step is to document the use and send a cease-and-desist letter. Depending on where it appears, you can also file platform takedowns, a UDRP complaint for a domain name, a letter of protest against a pending application, or a petition to cancel a registration.
Modern Mark handles each of these and offers annual flat-fee trademark monitoring, so conflicts can be caught early, when enforcement usually costs less.
What should I do if someone is using my trademark?
Document it with screenshots, dates and where it’s sold, then check whether your rights cover their goods and territory before you respond.
Infringement turns on whether customers are likely to be confused, judged mainly on how similar the marks and goods are and where each of you sells. Famous marks get broader protection. We’ll tell you where you stand and what response fits.
What counts as trademark infringement?
Using a mark, or something close to it, without permission in a way that is likely to confuse customers about who makes or stands behind the goods or services.
The usual cases are a similar name on similar products, counterfeit goods carrying the brand itself, and copied packaging or trade dress. Registered marks are enforced under Section 32 of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §1114); unregistered marks can still be protected under Section 43(a) (15 U.S.C. §1125(a)).
What is a trademark cease-and-desist letter?
A formal demand that the other party stop using the mark. A letter often ends the dispute on its own, but it has to be accurate, because an overreaching letter can provoke a lawsuit against you or a public backlash.
Received one yourself? Read what to do after a cease-and-desist letter, then send it to us before you reply, and we’ll assess the claim and any deadline it sets.
How do I get copycat listings taken down?
Marketplaces and social platforms have intellectual property reporting tools. A registered trademark makes them far more effective, and many brand-protection programs require a registered or pending mark.
We file social media and website takedowns and follow up where platforms push back.
Can I get back a domain name that uses my trademark?
Often, through a UDRP proceeding. You need to show the domain is identical or confusingly similar to your mark, the registrant has no legitimate interest in it, and it was registered and is being used in bad faith.
UDRP is faster and cheaper than a lawsuit, and a successful complaint transfers the domain to you.
Can I stop someone else’s trademark application or registration?
Yes, at several points, such as a letter of protest while it’s being examined, an opposition once it’s published, and after registration a petition to cancel, or expungement or reexamination if the mark isn’t being used.
Expungement and reexamination were added by the Trademark Modernization Act for registrations covering goods or services that were never, or not properly, in use. See how oppositions work.
What is trademark monitoring?
A watch on new filings and uses that could conflict with your mark, so you can act early. Modern Mark offers annual flat-fee monitoring packages with discounted enforcement rates.
A letter of protest or an opposition against a pending application usually costs far less than a petition to cancel the registration later.
What can I recover for trademark infringement?
A court can order the infringer to stop and can award the infringer’s profits, your damages and court costs. Attorney’s fees are available only in exceptional cases.
Counterfeiting carries statutory damages of between $1,000 and $200,000 per counterfeit mark for each type of goods or services, and up to $2,000,000 when the counterfeiting is willful (15 U.S.C. §1117(c)). Most disputes settle long before a court decides damages, and no outcome is guaranteed.
How much does trademark enforcement cost?
Cost depends on the tool. A letter or a takedown costs a fraction of a TTAB proceeding or a lawsuit, so we scope each step and tell you the cost before you commit.
We usually work in sequence, with a letter first, then a takedown, and formal proceedings only if those fail.
How it works.
Tell us your needs
Fill out our matter evaluation form. The more detail you provide, the better we can help.
Free matter evaluation
We review your information and determine how we can best help. Free of charge, no commitment.
Schedule your Strategy Session
If we can help, you’ll get a link to a 45-minute strategy session with clear next steps and a quote.
More questions.
Q01Do I need a registered trademark to enforce it?
No. Using a mark creates common-law rights where you trade. A federal registration adds nationwide priority and legal presumptions of ownership and validity, and it makes platform takedowns much easier.
Q02My competitor copied my logo. What are my options?
Often both apply. Trademark protects the logo if it identifies your brand, and copyright protects the artwork itself. The right first step depends on how the copy is being used.
Q03Is it infringement if they use my name for different products?
It depends on whether customers are likely to be confused, which turns on how related the products are and how they are sold. Famous marks can be protected even against unrelated goods.
Related services.
Trademark Registration
A clearance search and strategy before a USPTO filing that holds up.
Copyright
Copyright registration, DMCA takedowns when work is copied, and licensing.
Business Contracts
Custom contracts designed to hold up.
Business Formation
The right entity, filed correctly, in nearly any state.
Marketing Compliance
FTC and FDA review of ads, product claims and influencer deals.
Fractional General Counsel
A lawyer on speed-dial, without a full-time hire.
Trademark Monitoring
A year-round watch for copycat filings, with monthly attorney reviews.
Trademark Licensing & Monetization
Licensing, assignments, franchising and co-branding deals that turn a brand into income.
Business Legacy & Estate Planning
Plan who owns and runs the business, and the brand, after you.
IP Litigation
Trademark, copyright and trade secret disputes, taken to court when a letter isn’t enough.
Trademark Oppositions
Received a Notice of Opposition? Your answer deadline and your options for defending or settling it.
Filed It Yourself?
Attorney help when a self-filed application gets an office action, refusal, abandonment, or opposition.
Foreign Applicants
USPTO rules require trademark applicants based outside the US to be represented by a US-licensed attorney.
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