A mark is simple a distinctive name, brand or whatever for your person or business. At the risk of being sued to high heaven, the name “Google” is a trademark for a certain search engine. When it is mentioned or you read about it, you know exactly what it refers to. As a business becomes successful, it will almost always want to trademark its brand, logo or whatever.

Obtaining a trademark is not particularly difficult to do. The process is controlled by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The “PTO” is an agency falling under the control of the United Stated Department of Commerce. Fascinating, eh?

Filing a trademark application with the PTO is an interesting ordeal. From a technical stand point, it is fairly simple. You can search online to see if anyone else has already obtained the trademark you are after. If not, you can fill out an application and file it online. The PTO will assign an attorney to it. He or she will either approve the application, send correspondence asking you to clarify some aspect or outright reject your application. While this sounds straightforward, there is one aspect that turns the process into an annoying one – time.