Trademarks

Your brand is often your most valuable asset, and protecting it takes more than filing a form. Hank Fasthoff has spent more than 29 years helping companies choose, apply for, register, license, and defend their trademarks, from the mark availability search through application and registration, through enforcement, whether in or out of the courthouse.

Hank evaluates the proposed mark for obvious problems and, when requested, commissions a clearance search to identify potentially conflicting marks, and counsels you on the level of risk associated with adopting the proposed mark and filing an application seeking registration. Once you decide you want to apply to register a mark, he identifies the right classes and the description of goods and services, files the application, and responds to office actions that may be issued by an examining attorney. While some office actions don't require a substantive response, those that do will incur additional fees for any legal briefing that may be required to adequately respond to the office action.

Hank also negotiates and drafts trademark licenses and commercial agreements, handles assignments and intellectual property due diligence in deals, and represents you in opposition and cancellation proceedings at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. When infringement or counterfeiting threatens your brand, he enforces your rights in your mark through demand letters, settlement, and litigation.

Hank has represented trademark clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to recording artists to small businesses and startups, so you get counsel grounded in how these disputes resolve across very different stakes. On every engagement Hank works toward the same result, a mark you can own with confidence and seek to enforce without hesitation.