Trademarks are words, names, symbols, devices or any combination of these items that are used in trade to distinguish one source of goods or services from other sources of goods or services. Trademarks prevent the public from being confused as to the sources of goods or services. Creating or Selecting a Trademark: Selection of a trademark is a very important step. Descriptive trademarks and misdescriptive trademarks should be avoided. Trademark Search: The search involves researching whether the desired mark is available for use or whether someone else has already acquired rights in the mark. Trademark Application: A trademark application may be filed with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office or with a State Government. Notice of Publication: For a Federal application, if no conflicting registrations are found and the trademark qualifies for registration, a letter is sent to the Applicant regarding the date the mark is to be published in the Official Gazette for Trademarks. For a State application, if no conflicting registrations are found and the trademark qualifies for registration, the mark is registered without publication. Publication in Official Gazette for Trademarks: For a Federal application, the mark is published for opposition in the Official Gazette for Trademarks. If no opposition is filed within one month, the trademark is registered. Trademark Registration: Either the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the State Government issues a Trademark Registration and the Registration Certificate is mailed to the Applicant on the Issue Date. Watch Service: This service protects the rights of the trademark owner by locating similar trademarks that are published for opposition in time for an opposition to be filed against registration of the similar mark. Domestic and international watch services are available. Maintenance: State registrations must be renewed, generally every five to ten years. Federal registrations are renewed every ten years. However a Section 8 Affidavit must be filed for a Federal registration between the fifth and sixth year after issuance in order to maintain the registration. The Section 8 Affidavit is simply a statement that the mark is still in use. Normally a combined Section 8 and Section 15 Affidavit is filed instead of just a Section 8 Affidavit. The Section 15 portion of the affidavit states that the mark has been used continuously for five years. Filing a Section 15 Affidavit makes the registration incontestable.