Trademarks (for goods) and service marks (for services) are words, names, symbols (and even sounds and smells) used by manufacturers to identify their goods and services, and to distinguish their goods and services by those manufactured by other companies. Some examples of trademarks for brands include Apple® for computers and Tylenol® for medicine.  Taglines may also be used as trademarks, as in McDonald's tagline 'I'm lovin it' or Nike's tagline 'Just Do It'.

Examples of service marks include Hertz® for rental cars or even a color, as brown is a service mark for UPS® delivery services.  Trademarks and service marks are treated equally under the law.

Using the symbols ®, TM and SM alongside your mark all provide notice to the world that you are claiming trademark rights. The TM symbol signifies marks identifying goods, while the SM symbol signifies marks identifying services. You need not have a federal or state registration to use the TM or SM symbols; you can claim a common-law right to the mark.

However, the ® symbol, which provides statutory notice can only be used if your mark is federally registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

There are many added benefits to having a registered mark; here are some of the most powerful ones. Once a mark is registered on the Principal Register, it gives the mark nationwide priority, even though you may only be selling your products in 15 states. In comparison, a common law trademark (simply using the mark) is only effective in the states where it is currently in commerce, so your mark would have to be consistently in use in all 50 states. Most small businesses do not expand throughout the country overnight, so another business has the ability to stake its claim on a mark in a particular territory that you have not yet grown into. Registering a mark with the USPTO gives you priority over geographical areas in the United States where your products have not yet entered.

Once you have used your mark continuously for a period of five years you are eligible to apply for incontestability, which eliminates the most threatening arguments against your mark.

By having a registered mark, you can greatly reduce the number of people that infringe upon your mark, simply because the mark is included in searches performed on the USPTO website. Most business owners would prefer to come up with another name for their business or product to avoid a conflict. Additionally, the USPTO will not register confusingly similar marks.

No. Creating a business entity or registering your name with your home state's Secretary of State office just means that no one else will be able to form a company within your state with the same name. A U.S. trademark provides rights within all 50 U.S. states.

No, but an applicant’s citizenship must be included in the trademark application.

On average, somewhere between 8 months to a year from the time the application is filed.  Clients are updated regularly as the application moves through the examination process.

Most definitely! Policing your mark is something that is the duty of the business owner, and should be done on a regular basis. Trademark rights come with exclusive use, and you have to exercise this right in order to maintain it.  I suggest setting a Google Alert to keep track of potential infringement, and contact an attorney with any concerns.