Trademark Lawyer in Washington, DC

Your Washington, DC Trademark Attorney

Filing a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) looks simple on paper. In practice, a rushed search, a vague description of your goods, or a missed deadline can cost you months, or the application itself. Getting it right the first time is far cheaper than fixing it later.

Drishti Law helps businesses in Washington, DC protect their brands, from first-time founders to established companies. Our principal attorney, Sahil Malhotra, is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Illinois and served as a trademark law clerk at the USPTO, so he knows how examining attorneys review applications. He has represented clients before the USPTO and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

Every engagement starts with a free consultation, where we look at your brand, answer your questions, and explain the process and costs before any work begins.

Washington, DC Trademark Registration

We handle the whole registration process, from the first search to the registration certificate and beyond.

Trademark search and clearance

Before you file, we run a thorough trademark search of the USPTO records and the marketplace to find identical or similar marks that could lead to a likelihood of confusion refusal. A good search is the single best way to avoid a wasted application.

Application preparation and filing

We prepare and file your application with the right classes and a precise description of your goods and services. The USPTO’s own filing fee is $350 per class, with extra charges for incomplete applications or free-form descriptions, which careful drafting avoids.

Office action responses

If the examining attorney raises an objection, you normally have three months to respond to the office action, with one three-month extension available. We prepare the response and, where needed, handle appeals.

Publication and opposition

Once approved, your mark is published for opposition. We watch that period and defend your application if a third party challenges it.

Monitoring and maintenance

After registration, our trademark monitoring services watch for copycat filings, and we keep track of the Section 8 and 15 declarations and renewals that keep your registration alive.

Washington, DC Trademark Counseling

Beyond filing, we help you manage your brand as a business asset. That includes clearance for new product names, portfolio management, licensing, assignments when a business is bought or sold, and coexistence agreements when two brands need to share a market. Every plan is built around your business, not a template.

Washington, DC Trademark Enforcement

A registration only protects you if you’re willing to enforce it. When someone uses a confusingly similar mark, we work through the options in order of cost and speed:

Cease and desist letters

A well-drafted cease and desist letter is usually the first step. It’s inexpensive and often resolves the problem without any filing.

Negotiation and settlement

If the letter doesn’t work, we negotiate directly with the other side, whether that means a phase-out period, a rebrand, or a coexistence agreement.

TTAB proceedings

We file oppositions to stop conflicting applications and petitions to cancel conflicting registrations before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Litigation

When other options fail, we pursue trademark infringement proceedings in federal court.

Domain name disputes

We recover domains that use your brand in bad faith through domain name dispute proceedings, including UDRP complaints.