Protecting Your Company's Intellectual Property

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Trademark Infringement, Cancellations, and Dilution

Trademarks can be infringed by others. If a mark is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), an infringement action can be initiated in federal court, and a variety of remedies can be imposed, from compensatory monetary damages, to destruction of offending goods, to punitive damages, to attorney’s fees and costs. Trademark registrations can be cancelled if a petitioner proves that the registration should not have issued or that the mark has been abandoned. Finally, trademarks can also lose their distinctive quality by dilution, a whittling away of a trademark’s strength or ...