what is the best way to license some trademarks i own on a product that helps a person stop smoking.?
the product is not a gum,pill or informational in nature-and is sellable via retail outlets i.e.7-11.am/pm drug stores and super markets ect-thanks peter
Tagged with: drug stores • gum • retail outlets
Filed under: smoking
You have to hire a trademarks and patents attorney. It is a very expensive process. Why? Lawyers set it up that way, that’s why!
Sorry, you don’t own the trademarks unless you licence them. Right now they can be used by anyone that does liscence them. Licencing trademarks has no purpose for the small company you want to run as no one is more likely to buy your product due the the trademarked name…which is the only purpose of TM in the first place.
The question is ambiguous. Do you already own the trademarks and merely wish to licence these out? Or do you have a product that is not yet registered or protected by intellectual copyright?
Assuming the latter then you need to:
a) Determine whether you need a patent (to cover a process or physical invention) or whether you need a trademark (which is a unique name, design, sound, color, pattern etc etc that can be exclusively linked to your product)
b) Contact a firm of intellectual property attorneys and get them to register it for you. This will probably cost from $5000 upwards, depending on the complexity of your product/design.
HOWEVER, as someone else noted in response to your question, trademark protection is often only viable for larger, well-known brands and may be unnecessary for a smaller, regional line.
What you really need is someone to manufacture the product for you under a contract packing agreement that prohibits them from making the same product for anyone else and retains all rights to yourself.
Then find a sales distributor with listings in the relevant supermarket chains who will take on your product and sell on your behalf.