You may have read that I have been working on refining my brand message this summer. Click here for the book I used. And then at the beginning of the month, I unveiled my new message in my newsletter.

Writing Words People Read.
I was ready for the next step - registering my phrase with the government.

I checked with the US Patent Office and the phrase wasn't taken. So I decided to complete the form necessary to make the phrase mine.

The process was simple, however, I will tell you that you need to be prepared before going on line with a credit card and a JPEG file that can be attached of your phrase or word in use.

I hit the "send" button and off my information went to the great cyberspace in the sky. I quickly received a confirmation from the government - they are so efficient, I thought, as I saw the email was from the Patent and Trademark Department.

And then I opened the message:

"In approximately 6-7 months, your application will be assigned to an examining attorney; however, the critical date for determining registrability is your filing date, NOT the actual examination date. You will not receive any further USPTO communications until examination. At this point, your mark is not registered it is only a "pending" application. The overall process, from the time of initial filing to final registration, can take 13-18 months, and even longer depending on many factors, e.g., the correctness of the original filing, or the type of application filed."

I could be dead by then! I knew there would be a delay but a year and a half????

So take my advice - if you are planning on registering a trademark, set your expectations appropriately.

Need the form to register a mark? Click here.