We can’t emphasize enough just how important it is for business owners to protect their intellectual property, including trademarks. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that identifies and distinguishes a company's products or services from those of others in the marketplace. This is what makes your brand memorable and recognizable.  When Should You File a Trademark? Small business owners should also consider the timing of their trademark filing and do the research. The simplest way to see if your brand is already in use is by doing a simple google search and a trademark search at the... READ MORE

You’ve got this great idea and you love the name you’ve come up with for the brand. You’ve put up a website, created a logo for it, built a business model around the idea and started inviting people to buy, join or invest. Maybe you’ve had a year of moderate success or even super achievements. Then, one day you get that letter or email saying “Hey, that’s my trademark, my brand and my business! We own this and you need to cease and desist from using the brand any further.” (Paraphrased. These notices are a lot stronger with more legalese... READ MORE

Licensing intellectual property allows businesses to capitalize on the name of other brands in exchange for royalty payments. The owner of the intellectual property is known as the licensor and the business or individual gaining a right to use the intellectual property is known as the licensee. There are many well-known brands and products that utilize licensing as part of their business strategy. For example, t-shirts, shoes, hats, etc. bearing the name of a sports team requires a licensing agreement that explicitly permits the manufacturer to produce these goods with the sports team’s intellectual property emblazoned upon it. Generally, the... READ MORE