A trademark can be a name, tagline, or logo to give a unique identification to your product or business. Trademarks are a valuable part of the intellectual property owned by a business, which helps in distinguishing goods and services in the same business sector.
The cheapest way to get a trademark is to design and register one for yourself. It is recommended to get assistance when working with trademarks because a small error in registration and research can result in conflict from another party. There are online trademark search and registration services, which are cheaper alternatives to hiring a local trademark attorney, and can help you with efficient registration. Mentioned below are three online trademark services that are the cheapest ways to get a trademark.
LegalZoom
Established in 2001, the online trademark service is a reasonable alternative to hiring an attorney for your trademark. It allows you to choose from Basic and Complete coverage plans that are priced at $199 and $219 respectively. The complete coverage also provides color adjustment, digitization, and compilation of your trademark specimens, a feature that not every trademark service provides. LegalZoom is also highly rated due to its ease of use, and easy-to-understand questionnaires to gather necessary information. Moreover, it allows you to check the status online anytime, and provides assistance through call or email.
TrademarkPlus
It is one of the most popular and cheapest ways to get a trademark for your business. Average Trademark search and registration packages range from $199 to $399 while TrademarkPlus charges between $49 and $149. The trademark service claims to process any trademark search within one business day of receiving application materials. TrademarkPlus helps in identifying similar trademarks that may cause conflict, thereby avoiding the likelihood of application rejection. Its trademark watching service helps protect your business by monitoring your trademark at the national, federal state, or international level. You’ll also get an alert if anyone attempts to use a similar mark.
Trademark Engine
Another cheap way to get a trademark is to opt for Trademark Engine. It can be a good choice to trademark your intellectual property of your business. Its basic registration package starts from $99. The Standard Package includes Transfer/Assignment template and six months of trademark monitoring for $149. The Deluxe Package gives you a full year of trademark monitoring and 24-hour processing time for $199. Trademark Engine can also let you perform free trademark search of pending and even live trademarks. It also has its own learning center where it provides answers to various trademark and copyright related questions.
We often stumble across the word “bail” in news or our favorite courtroom dramas. But what does this word actually mean?
In simple terms, bail is an amount that a defendant has to deposit to be released from jail. This money is imposed to ensure that the defendant will return to the court for further proceedings. The bail amount differs across cases and is decided by the judge. The money is returned to the defendant after the case is over.
There are two types of bails, namely, cash and bonds. As the name suggests, cash bails are where one needs to pay the bail amount in cash. At times, these can be comparatively heavy on the wallet than bonds, as they have to be paid entirely in cash. On the other hand, bail bonds or surety bonds are contractual agreements where the bail amount is funded through a third-party or bondsmen as the bail amount charged is expensive, generally, for severe crimes.
How to do bail bonds work?
Like mentioned before, when the bail involves a big figure, defendants can approach a third-party or a bondsman to help them. Such businesses will charge 10% of the bail amount as a fee while they cover the remaining balance amount. The bail bondsmen draft an agreement to make sure that the defendant turns up in the court. In this contract, the bail bondsmen require the defendant to use a collateral in exchange of bail.
Every bail bond agency is different, therefore, what would deem as a collateral will vary accordingly. Typically, an asset of significant value is accepted as a surety. The following are some examples of what can be used as a collateral:
Both, the court and the bail bond agency, establish some conditions for the defendant’s release. The first being that the defendant has to appear in the court for future trials and hearings. Likewise, the defendant isn’t permitted to break any laws before the final verdict. If any of these terms are violated then an arrest warrant will be issued.
The bail bond agency, on the other hand, will ask the defendant to surrender their collateral temporarily. If the defendant doesn’t show up for court proceedings, the agency will have all the rights to track them down. Moreover, if the defendant is nowhere to be found in the next six months, then they will be liable to pay the entire bail amount.
It can be a difficult process for one to get themselves out of custody. The bail system acts as a savior and helps one to get their loved ones out of custody fast. There are a variety of bonds that can secure one’s release from jail. Below are the different types of bail bonds that everyone must know about to help get custody fast.
Cash bond
As the name suggests, cash bonds are cash payments that allow one to get out of jail. In most instances, only cash is accepted by the corrections department. However, in some cases, cashier’s checks or credit cards can also be used to cover cash bails. Most people don’t tend to have large sums of money readily available to give to the correction department as in some cases thousands of dollars in cash are needed to cover bail fast. In such cases, one may have to seek the advice of a bail bondsman for the help they need.
Property bond
Property bonds may not be accepted in all states. However, in states like California, they are used occasionally. Different types of properties can be used, but real estate happens to be the one that is most commonly used. These bonds tend to be quite useful, especially, when one does not have cash available in hand to secure bail. The only drawback of property bond is that it takes time to obtain the same. One can be released from jail within a couple hours with the help of cash bonds. Whereas a property bond is handled directly by the court, there is an assessment of property value that is needed along with court hearing in order to receive the confirmation of the bond agreement. Hence, the whole process takes a span of a few weeks.
Federal bail bond
If one has been jailed under a federal crime, to secure the release, a federal bail bond is needed. Both cash, as well as property, can be used to obtaining federal bonds and they don’t require a bail bondsman. Similar to the property bonds, federal bail bonds are handled by the court directly.