You’ve invested time and money into developing a new business name, brand, logo, or package design and you want to protect it by registering for a federal trademark. That’s great! You’re taking the right step to ensure only you can exploit your intellectual property in the marketplace and earn money from it. But wait. There’s…
5 Trademark Renewal and Reminder Steps You Don’t Want to Skip
One of the biggest problems that trademark owners encounter is unintentionally abandoning their registered marks. This happens when the owner fails to renew the necessary maintenance documents when they’re required. Losing your trademark could irreparably damage your business, so you don’t want to forget to file these maintenance documents. To help you meet the deadlines,…
The Dangerous Commoditization of Legal Services
**Originally published Dec 22, 2015; Updated June 8, 2018** In October of 2014, LegalZoom and Sam’s Club entered into a partnership. In a press release, it was revealed that Sam’s Club customers would soon get discounts on a variety of LegalZoom products. Specifically, Sam’s Club discount shoppers can get, “a $299 Suite of Estate Planning…
What Are Copyrights and What Can You Copyright?
What are Copyrights? Copyright law gives people a way to protect the tangible expressions of their creative ideas, such as a writing (a blog, essay, book), a canvas, a sound recording, a photograph, a video game, and so forth. It also provides a set of rules that determine when a person can claim legal ownership…
What are Trade Secrets and Why Do They Matter to My Business?
Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that can have significant value for your company, including monetary value. However, they only hold value if they remain secret. That’s why trade secret protection is so important in business. If you can’t protect your trade secrets, then you’ll lose many of your competitive advantages in the…
What Are Patents and What Can You Patent?
You have been tinkering in your garage for months and have finally had your Eureka! moment: you have invented an improvement to the bicycle seat to make recreational riding far more comfortable. You believe your invention is completely new and has the potential to be a successful product. But before you tell anyone about your awesome creation, your…
What is a Trademark and What Can You Trademark?
Trademark law provides people, businesses, and organizations a way to protect the integrity of their brand names, images, and brand reputations in the marketplace. Through a series of rules and guidelines, trademark law helps us determine who owns particular marks and to define the scope of legal protection for those marks. The textbook definition of…
4 Types of Contracts that Must be in Writing – No Matter What
Did you know there are some contracts that must be in writing or they’re not enforceable? Every state in the U.S. has some form of what is known as the Statute of Frauds, which says that while most verbal contracts are enforceable, certain contracts are not. The Statue of Frauds prevents people from defrauding one…
5 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know about Intellectual Property
I’m excited to announce the launch of my first free online course — 5 Things Entrepreneurs Should Know about Intellectual Property. As an intellectual property attorney, this topic is near and dear to my heart, but more importantly, it’s essential information for business owners in the digital age. In this course, I show you the…