As the reality of mass production hit, we consulted a patent attorney, Denise Mashburn, a cousin to our neighbor, Christy, to make sure 1) our product was not infringing on any other patents and 2) decide if we should apply for a patent.
Denise advised us that obtaining a patent for Kyler's athletic cup invention would be very difficult, time consuing and costly ($10,000 or more)-- beyond what we could afford. We decided to move forward without a patent. Instead, she advised us to add a ™ after the product name. She educated us that this symbol may be used for any mark which a person claims rights to, even if they have not officially filed a registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We learned that once