Legal Question in Business Law in Massachusetts

Re: Trademark & Copyright laws

I believe this is true for any jurisdiction, but any person or legaly entity can trademark or patent. I am not so sure about a DBA. I do not believe a DBA is an entity for these purposes.

I suggest that you contact a patent attorney, or your local law library for further information.

Re: Trademark & Copyright laws

You do not have to be incorporated to trademark something or copyright something.

You can file a State Trademark or Service Mark for $50.00 in MA for each class. The filing fee for a federal trademark online is $325 for each class the trademark is registered.

Attorney fees vary and a comprehensve trademark search before filing costs between $500-$600. That does not include legal fees for review.

If you just want to file a trademark yourself you can do it on line.

Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions.

Re: Trademark & Copyright laws

A sole-proprietorship "DBA" is not really a legal entity, so you would actually be the owner of any intellectual property that you register under that form of doing business.

Unless you are doing business solely in MA, state trademark registration is of little value.

You should consult with an attorney who specializes in IP work regarding the advisability of seeking a trademark registration. You should have a policy of registering copyright in all of your works before you make them accessible to the public -- many advantages to doing this.

General rule: copyright registration is cheap and should be done as a matter of course; trademark registration can turn into an expensive project, and should not be done as a self-help project.

Best wishes,

LDWG