Trademark Emergency.
A cease-and-desist arrived. The USPTO refused your application. A competitor filed first. A former employee left with your name. Whichever side of the dispute you're on, the clock is on and the wrong move makes it worse.
Book Emergency Assessment — $2,000 →Risk-free. If you don't walk away with clarity, you get a full refund.
Call now: (202) 335-1999 · Email: emergency@trademarklawusa.com
You're Not Behind. You're Right on Time.
Most business owners and leaders discover trademark issues when they're already in progress. The good news: you caught it now. We specialize in trademark law and can move fast — fast enough that most feel relief within 48 hours of our first conversation.
Three Scenarios. Same Solution.
You Received a Cease-and-Desist
Someone claims you're infringing their mark. This is urgent, but it's solvable. We'll evaluate the threat level, your options, and what happens if you ignore it.
A Competitor Is Using Your Name
You built this brand. Now someone else is profiting from it. We'll determine what you can legally do, how fast you can move, and what enforcement actually costs.
A Former Employee Took Your Brand
They left and launched under your name, your domain, your social handles. We'll map your legal paths, your negotiation leverage, and your timeline to resolution.
Clarity, a Plan, and a Budget. That's It.
Where You Stand
A clear-eyed evaluation of your legal position, the actual threat level, and what the other side can realistically claim.
What to Do Next
Your action plan: written, prioritized, and realistic. Not theoretical. Executable within 30 days if you choose to move.
What It Costs
Legal fees, enforcement costs, and timeline. No hidden surprises. You'll know exactly what the next step requires before you commit.
Risk-free. If you don't walk away with clarity, you get a full refund.
The E5 Trademark System
Every trademark issue follows the same pattern: Evaluate the landscape, Establish ownership, Execute your strategy, Enforce your rights, and Evolve as your business grows.
This assessment covers the first three steps. You'll know what you own, what's vulnerable, and how to protect it. Attorneys who specialize in trademark law understand this framework inside and out.
The methodology is documented in Trademarks Made Simple by Steven Thrasher — the field guide for executives who want to understand trademark strategy without translating legalese.
What Happens After You Book
No mystery. Three steps from booking to a written plan you can act on.
Initial Deep Dive
We'll gather everything: the Cease-and-Desist (if any), your trademark filings, the competitor's documents, your domain registration, social media history. This takes 2 business days.
Analysis & Strategy
We'll evaluate your legal position, the strength of the threat, your negotiation leverage, and what enforcement would actually require. Results within 3 business days.
Written Plan & Next Steps
You'll receive a clear, written assessment with your action plan, timeline, and costs. We'll walk you through it and answer every question you have.
When Defense Mattered, Steve Showed Up.
"Steve coordinated a successful defense when a major competitor tried to kill us in the cradle with their Trademark."
Charles GillisCEO
"A troll tried to hold my now Wall Street Journal best-seller hostage. Steve handled it fast and for a fraction of what everyone else quoted."
Mike KimWSJ Bestselling Author
"The best money I've ever invested. Not just in legal — in anything. He saved our entire company."
Jim BengeDallas Angel Investor & "Proud Shark"
The Math Is Simple.
The businesses that protect their brands early spend a fraction of what the businesses that wait end up paying.
How This Works
How fast can you move?
Most in emergency mode are on the calendar within 48 hours. The Assessment call is 60 minutes. The written Action Plan is delivered within 7–10 days — faster if there's a hard deadline like an Office Action response window or a TTAB answer date.
How much is this going to cost me?
The Emergency IP Assessment is $2,000 fixed — includes triage, evaluation of the merits, prioritized action plan, and a defined budget for whatever follows. No hourly billing surprises. You leave the call with a number.
Am I locked in once I start?
No. The Emergency IP Assessment is a stand-alone deliverable: $2,000, one 60-minute call, a written plan. You're not committing to retainer, ongoing representation, or anything beyond the Assessment itself.
"My regular lawyer can handle this."
Most can't, and most know they can't. Trademark prosecution and emergency defense is a specialty — cease-and-desist response, USPTO office actions, TTAB oppositions, infringement litigation. Most of those we serve keep their existing counsel for everything else and bring us in for trademarks specifically.
"We'll do it next quarter."
In a trademark emergency, "next quarter" is rarely an option. Office Action responses run on a 3-month clock. TTAB oppositions have a 40-day answer window. C&D leverage windows close. Waiting multiplies the cost.
"Why pay when other firms offer free consultations?"
Free consultations are sales calls. The IP Assessment & Action Plan is a real deliverable — an evaluation of what you own, what's exposed, what to do next, and what each piece costs. You leave with a written plan whether or not you ever hire us.
"I need to check with my partner/board."
The Assessment IS the artifact for that conversation — a written plan with prioritized actions and line-item costs. In an emergency, the cost of a one-week discussion is small; a one-month delay can be catastrophic.
Trademark Emergency — Answered.
What sophisticated owners and general counsel ask when a trademark crisis lands on the desk.
We just discovered someone is using our brand. What's the first move?
Before contacting anyone: (1) Document everything with timestamps — screenshots, Wayback Machine saves. (2) Calculate your priority date. (3) Pull the file history of any federal registration. (4) Do NOT send a cease-and-desist before specialist review — premature C&Ds can weaken your case or trigger a declaratory-judgment action in their preferred forum.
We received a cease-and-desist. Do we have to stop using our mark immediately?
No — a C&D letter is a demand, not a court order. Continuing use after formal notice can increase damages exposure if the sender prevails (willfulness factor under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a)). Evaluate the merits and respond strategically before doing anything.
We were just opposed at the TTAB. What's our defense playbook?
40-day initial answer window (extendable). Defense paths: (1) distinguish marks under DuPont factors; (2) establish priority; (3) attack cited mark for descriptiveness or genericness; (4) show abandonment. Each path requires different evidence.
What is a declaratory-judgment action and when should we file one?
A DJ action is filed by the party who received a C&D, asking a federal court to declare they are NOT infringing. The DJ plaintiff chooses the forum, timing, and judge. Appropriate when litigation appears likely and the sender's preferred forum is unfavorable to you.
What are common defenses to a trademark infringement claim?
(1) No likelihood of confusion; (2) Priority — your first use predates theirs; (3) Fair use — descriptive or nominative; (4) Genericness; (5) Abandonment; (6) Laches/acquiescence — they waited too long to enforce.
What happens if we ignore a cease-and-desist and don't respond?
Almost never a sound strategy. It accelerates the sender's path to suit, forecloses negotiation, supports a finding of willful infringement (treble damages and attorneys' fees under § 1117(a)), and forfeits the option to file a DJ in your preferred forum.
Someone registered a confusingly similar domain. How do we recover it via UDRP?
UDRP requires: (1) domain confusingly similar to your mark; (2) registrant has no legitimate rights; (3) registered AND used in bad faith. Typically 60–75 days, $1,500–$5,000 vs. $50K+ for federal litigation.
Our application was refused for descriptiveness (Section 2(e)). How do we overcome it?
Three paths: (1) Argue suggestiveness — mark requires imagination to connect to goods; (2) Acquired distinctiveness under § 2(f) — five years exclusive use plus evidence; (3) Amend to Supplemental Register — partial protection while building distinctiveness.
Your situation is specific, and the clock is on. The Emergency Assessment triages it in one 60-minute call.
Book an Emergency Assessment — $2,000 →Send Us the Basics. We'll Call You Back.
Prefer not to call? Leave your name and number and our team will reach out — usually the same business day.
This Is Solvable.
The Assessment Is How We Start.
Everything included: evaluation, strategy, cost estimates, and consultation call. Fixed price. No surprises.
Book Your Emergency Assessment →Or call (202) 335-1999 · Email emergency@trademarklawusa.com
Read the Book First.
Trademarks Made Simple — what trademark law actually does for a growing business. Written for owners, not lawyers.
Get the Book →