So you’ve got a brilliant idea and a fantastic business name. But have you ever stopped to think about protecting that name and the unique brand you're building? Enter trademarks—a legal powerhouse that can safeguard your business’s identity. If you’re wondering whether a trademark is necessary for your venture, here’s a sneak peek into why it might be a game-changer for your business. What is a Trademark? In a nutshell, a trademark is a distinctive sign or symbol used to identify your goods or services and distinguish them from those of competitors. It could be a word, phrase, logo, symbol,... READ MORE

Nominative fair use allows a business to refer to another company's goods or services by using their trademarks without needing permission. This principle is essential for businesses that provide services related to products from other companies. For example, auto repair shops, tech support services or medical providers. A recent discussion sheds light on how this doctrine applies, specifically regarding the use of another company's logo. The Scenario A medical services provider put on its website a logo of an insurance company alongside other insurance companies’ logos noting that the facility accepts those insurance policies. However, one company sent a notice... READ MORE

“Is this a legitimate notice?” This is a question our clients ask us all the time when they receive official-looking documents. Quite often, we tell them that it is not and they can dispose of it in the proper receptacle. However, a business owner cannot take the chance of disregarding an actual governmental notice, so the utmost care should be exercised in evaluating these notices. In today’s online and digital world, the battle to protect intellectual property and business assets continues to be a chore. Fake trademark renewal letters are one of those scams that are still out there and... READ MORE

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

Running a business, you’ll probably come across copyrighted material more frequently than you expect. From photos you want to use for promotions to the music that runs across the back of your videos, if it was created by someone else, it’s always good to check if it’s copyrighted. While permission is not needed every time you use copyrighted material, if you plan to sell the material or use it to advertise your service, you want to make sure you’ve licensed the material. Similarly, for computer code, if you’re incorporating a portion of someone else’s work into your code, you’ll want... READ MORE

As businesses grow, they often look to protect branding associated with their company by registering the trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”).  Marks can take the form of the company name, its logo, or even a tagline used to market products or services. In many industries, companies elect to register marks used with a specific line of products. Trademarks are available for word and design marks. Word marks are generally used in connection with a brand’s name or tagline. On the other hand, design marks are used when registering a brand’s logo. It’s important to understand... READ MORE

Starting your own business can be exciting as it allows you to follow your passion while benefiting from your hard work. As part of the start-up process, you should take the time to create and refine a brand that encompasses and embodies your goals. This branding includes the name of your business- maybe a slogan, too- and visual markers you want people to associate with your business, which will be on display in everything from your marketing material down to the invoices you send clients. These details are the trade and service marks of your brand, which should distinguish you... READ MORE

In 2016, a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the writers of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," went to trial in federal court (Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin, 15-cv-03462, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles). In June, a federal jury deliberated for just one day before rejecting the claims by the plaintiff. The plaintiff was a trust representing the estate of the late Randy Wolfe (aka Randy California) the guitarist for the band, Spirit. The alleged copyright infringement at issue in the case was for Wolfe's song "Taurus," based upon a claim that Page... READ MORE

In late spring of 2016, Google received a favorable verdict after being sued by Oracle for billions of dollars. A jury unanimously found that Google's use of a code was "fair use" under federal copyright law. Fair use allows people and organizations to reproduce, modify, distribute, display, and publicly perform works created by others in certain circumstances and for certain purposes. Two such purposes which may be beneficial to business owners are teaching and research. Google included parts of computer code, known as "application programming interfaces" (APIs) in Android that originated in another programming language. This language, Java, was owned... READ MORE