Business Counseling

The rules for designing a beer label can be so frustrating that perhaps you’d better have a drink first.  For a name, pick a trademark that you can actually protect.  Don’t call your beer “strong” or “invigorating,” don’t include anything that might remotely be considered a drug reference, and for heaven’s sake, don’t try to show your patriotism by putting the American flag on it!

Please visit the latest issue of Valley Business Front June [PDF link] for the full discussion on alcohol labeling do’s and don’ts.

And if you’re interested in learning more about trademark and brand development as it applies to alcohol labeling specifically, join us at our next round of Shark Bites this month.

If you have been through the drawn-out process of registering a trademark, you realize it is not a quick and easy process.  Between backlog at the USPTO, office actions from Examiners, and oppositions from the public, there are many hoops to clear before registration.  But did you know that a mark owner’s responsibilities do not end there?  A mark often becomes the most valuable association with a brand.  The tips below will help mark holders ensure the time, energy, and money put into their mark and brand will be protectable and valuable for years to come.
Continue reading “Adding Brand Value through Protecting Trademarks” »

Anyone can use the TM symbol for anything. When you use it together with a word, phrase or logo, you’re just saying that you consider that word, phrase or logo to be a trademark. You don’t need to have any registration or permission from anybody.  But you’re only allowed to use the circle-R “®” symbol if you have a federal trademark registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Please visit the latest issue of Valley Business Front May [PDF link] for the full discussion of how and when to register your business.

And if you’re interested in learning more about trademark and brand development, join us at our next round of Shark Bites this month.

The law can protect internet services against copyright suits over content that their users upload.  One thing that an internet service has to do to be protected is to take down infringing material as soon as it receives a takedown notice. You don’t get any protection if you don’t designate an agent to receive takedown notices.  The law requires you to appoint an agent, to put the agent’s contact information on your web site, and also to file the contact information with the U.S. Copyright Office.  You can just fill out a form and send it in. There’s also a fee of $105. Appointing an agent won’t protect you retroactively.  You have to appoint the agent before the copyright infringement occurs.  If you don’t, then the copyright owner can sue you directly for the infringing material that your users uploaded to your site.

Please visit the latest issue of Valley Business Front April [PDF link] for the full discussion of how to shield your web content from copyright lawsuits.

And if you’re interested in learning more about how to keep your business’s digital both public and protected, join us at our next round of Shark Bites this month.