Question
It's a B2B SaaS product, and it's niche and expensive, offered worldwide.
I'm concerned about confusion and false association and also whatever the equivalent of patent trolling is, but for trademarks.
I'm trying to better understand the risk - what are some of the bad things that could happen that I have overlooked and how likely are they? For example, could someone register and squat on the trademark in a jurisdiction like China, and then demand that I not use it for business within that jurisdiction in the hope of extorting a settlement?
Answers: 2 public & 0 private
One of the biggest risks is that you could be sued, lose all your money and have to file for bankruptcy. And sometimes hiding behind an LLC, for example, doesn't always protect you. But why wait? Why not plan ahead to avoid these pitfalls, especially if your product is "expensive" and likely generating a good return? Get legal counsel before you take your next step.
The question is not whether you SHOULD trademark your logo, the real question is CAN you trademark it? The test of proper non-infringement use of a trademark is the lack of confusion in the marketplace - so the first thing you should do is have a TM professional conduct a TM search for your mark and/or similar marks and then see where you stand.
Also understand that TMs are territorial - a TM registration here in the US is of no help to you in China - so you will need to investigate the prospects of registration within any jurisdiction/country that you wish to commercialize your mark/logo.
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