As a business becomes better known for the products it produces or the services it renders, competitors will no doubt try to capitalize on the success. However, many companies may not recognize the importance of utilizing federal trademark laws to protect more than just the name on the front of the building. For example, the names of specific products, specific features of products, and even specific services associated with a service business are potentially subject to protection under United States trademark law. By federally registering these names, a business can help prevent others from capitalizing on the goodwill of a successful business concept. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), “A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others.” While a service mark is similar to a trademark, it instead “identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product.” While there are many factors that may go into the registration of a trademark, there are two primary factors analyzed in determining whether you will be able to register a trademark alongside a competitor’s mark: 1) the similarity of the marks; and 2) the commercial relationship between the goods and/or services listed in the registration of the mark. If the USPTO does register your mark, several important documents must be filed in order to establish continued federal protection. However, if these documents are filed in a timely manner and not subject to opposition, your mark can be protected indefinitely in the U.S. Registration of a trademark with the USPTO can help prevent others from capitalizing on the goodwill that you have built up around a specific line of products/goods or services. It is important to note that registering a trademark will not necessarily prevent others from taking the product concept behind the mark itself. However, it will help to protect your business from others seeking to utilize a confusingly similar name for the same or similar goods. This means that if your company registers the trademark “Carstonites” for blue widgets, a competitor will arguably not be able to register or sell the same blue widgets under the name “Marstonites.” However, trademark laws do not prevent competitors from producing or selling blue widgets in general. They may be prevented under patent law though. The same is true for a business that renders services to its customers. A valid federal trademark or service mark registration can help protect the name of your business concept. Further, if you are in the business of inventing products or services, it is important to use names that are not confusingly similar to others currently in the market place. For example, if there is a sports drink currently on the market named “Energy Life” and it is federally registered, your business would arguably not be able to register, or potentially even sell, a sports drink named “Life Energy,” at least not without a fight from the preexisting competitor. Just because you accidentally came up with a similar name to the competition’s product does not mean you will necessarily be able to use it. This means that you may be prohibited from using a very creative name because it is too similar to that of a competitor who began using it earlier. Also, just because you think your product name is original does not mean someone else has not already registered it with the USPTO. The above comments are merely an opinion and meant to give potential inventors and start-ups some insight into what is involved in the case of registering a trademark or service mark. It is not exhaustive and certainly does not cover the plethora of other considerations to be taken into account when registering a mark with the USPTO.