Once you go to the trouble of establishing a trademark, you want to make sure it is protected. Creating a trademark is not enough; trademark protection is essential. Rights to a trademark are protected in the four following ways: registration, maintenance, watching, and enforcement. In the United States, trademarks are registered with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Trademarks can also be registered within each state and territory as well. Renewal applications, affidavits, and fees are all ways of maintaining a trademark registration. Trademark maintenance is achieved by clearly conveying the source or origin of products and services. Hiring a watching service to notify you of attempts to register conflicting trademarks is a good move. This will give you time to oppose these applications. Trademark enforcement is the pursuit of adverse users. An adverse user is when someone, who is not authorized uses your trademark, or when someone who is authorized to use your trademark uses it improperly.