 Beware of document preparation companies offering to file your trademark. Let me tell you a sad but true story. Recently, he took a phone call from the owner of an online retailer. Let's call him Joe. Joe had spared no expense in creating buzz for his company's online launch. But when it came to protecting his company's name, Joe decided to do it in the cheap. Discovered a trademark filing service promised him savings of 70% over what an attorney would charge. And he read the service's fine print, specifically stated that their check was limited to spelling and consistency. Joe was shocked to receive a cease and desist letter from his competitor. And they threatened to file suit to Joe's company used the slogan in the marketplace. Joe's slogan was confusingly similar to the one used by the other company who filed first. A proper search and opinion by a trademark lawyer prior to filing his trademark would have identified the potential problem. Joe had to scrap all the marketing material and his abandoned slogan start from scratch. Consult with a trademark attorney before you hire a logo designer and other expenses. Make sure your lawyer checks other registrations to see that there's no conflict.