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Hodgson Law Group or Legal Zoom–It’s Your Brand –You Decide!
© Cheryl Hodgson 2007 | Posted on November 6, 2007
Companies such as Legal Zoom that offer discounted rates for trademark filings may not be such a wise choice for consumers and new businesses looking for cost savings. Yes, we at HLG are biased. However, this bias is based upon years of experience in dealing with the subtle complexities we encounter daily in successfully registering a new trademark to achieve a legally protectable brand for our clients. A trademark registration may or may not be worth the paper it is printed on when the time to enforce ones rights presents itself!
Most important, our greatest concern grows from a review of the statistics Legal Zoom and other non-lawyer filing services fail to mention to the public in their solicitations. 85.8% of all TEAS and 70.8% of TEAS Plus registrations filed during the Second Quarter of 2007 using the online services of the Trademark Office, were initially rejected by the Trademark Office. Stated differently, an on-line applicant filing his or her own trademark application has only a 14.2% and 29.2% chance of success without the need to respond to the Trademark Office Attorney assigned to the file.
HLG is receiving an increasing number of calls from confused applicants who have paid for discount filings. The applicants soon come to realize they have no representative, and can not respond to the Office Actions without legal assistance. Legal Zoom does not assume responsibility for responding to Office Actions. Legal Zoom is not listed as an attorney for the applicant, since it is not allowed to offer legal advice. Applicants are left to fend for themselves, or search for legal counsel to correct problems in the original filings.
The self-represented applicant is also likely to be the target of solicitations for unnecessary watch services, and from attorneys soliciting business, that may or may not be qualified to assist the applicant leading to more questions and confusion. Before deciding whether to hire an expert, or do-it-yourself services, evaluate the entire process, and decide whether the up front savings is a good deal for you, or in the end, more trouble than its worth!
[*] These statistics were provided by the U.S. Trademark Office, and are available to the public upon request.
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