Trademark excellence

At the core of every great business are its brands. Brands are a fundamental element of a company’s ability to develop public goodwill in its name, its products, and its services. The Belles Group, P.C. is there to help select, nurture and protect its client’s brands through trademarks. We start from the beginning — searching and clearing potential names for trademark use and obtaining registrations – and then work with our clients throughout the life of their brands. The Belles Group, P.C. can ably handle all aspects of trademarks, including the management of international portfolios, litigation, and the development of agreements to implement business strategies.

Trademark prosecution

U.S. Trademark prosecution is one of The Belles Group, P.C.’s great strengths. Not only do we help clients procure registrations with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, we work with our clients to develop a branding strategy. We identify potential issues prior to preparing applications and eliminate wasteful filings. We employ carefully crafted strategies to maximize the scope and strength of trademark rights at the time of filing and throughout the prosecution process. Indeed, we have a superior rate of traversing initial rejections, and we are often able to overcome obstacles to registration, even after others have failed. Once registered, we continue to offer advice on building brand strength and goodwill and we assist with all post-registration maintenance filings.

International portfolio management

The Belles Group, P.C. has developed an exceptionally strong network of foreign associates to help with all aspects of managing an international trademark portfolio. We have carefully selected the most skilled firms that share our value for value. To this end, we successfully and efficiently secure and protect IP rights for our clients across the globe.

Trademark trial and appeal board work

The Belles Group, P.C.'s commitment to clients’ trademarks does not end with their registration. We provide diligent surveillance of marks that threaten to harm the scope and strength of those of our clients. When appropriate, we prosecute and defend against oppositions and petitions to cancel with the US Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, and manage oppositions and petitions to cancel abroad. We have a very high record of success in these proceedings and we always keep an eye out for making intelligent settlement decisions when it is in the best interest of our clients.

Civil litigation

It is our general belief at The Belles Group, P.C. that litigation is an inherently risky and expensive proposition. Certainly, we understand that there are times when enforcing trademark rights or defending business actions are necessary. In those instances, we select the appropriate litigators with, and for, our clients to handle the cases, and we participate as needed as intellectual property counsel. We have experienced great success with this model, and, indeed, the model works so well that we are often called upon by our network of litigation attorneys to support their litigation efforts when the intellectual property issues in their cases warrant the entry of a specialist or expert.