In case the Kardashian family isn’t in the news enough already, matriarch Kris Jenner made legal and business news this week over a trademark. Kris Jenner wants to trademark #ProudMama — a hashtag she uses to refer to herself on social media, particularly when posting photos to her Instagram profile. Being a Kardashian, Kris knows…
Disney Sends DMCA Take-Down to a Facebook Page over Star Wars Toy Photo
Marjorie and Arnie Carvalho run the Star Wars Action News Facebook Page. They publish content about Star Wars collectibles, so you can imagine their excitement to share a photo taken at a Walmart store of a new action figure from the upcoming Star Wars movie. You can also imagine their surprise when they received a…
Taylor Swift Trademarks Grow with Swiftmas
In her most recent effort to cash in on her brand, Taylor Swift wants to trademark the word ‘Swiftmas’ and several other phrases from her song lyrics. Taylor Swift has always been aggressive in protecting her intellectual property, but she’s taken it to a whole new level with her ambitious trademark campaign. Taylor is a…
Trademark Search Truths that Could Save Your Business
You’ve developed a brand name and logo that you’re proud of, and you want to make sure no one else uses it on similar products or services. It’s time to trademark your brand identity! In other words, you want to protect your brand and products from confusion in the marketplace with trademarks. That brand name…
The Undeniable Value of Intangible Assets to Business
Did you know that in 1975, the S&P 500 stock index as a percentage of corporate net worth was made up of 17% tangible assets and 23% intangible assets? Fast forward just 20 years into the future, and things looked very different. In 1997, the split was 32% tangible assets and 68% intangible assets. By…
Trade Secret Protection Requires Specific Descriptions
If you want to protect your trade secrets, then you need to describe them in very specific terms. Generic and broadly defined trade secrets could be difficult to protect (or impossible). That’s a lesson California’s New Castle Beverage, Inc. learned the hard way not that long ago. Under California law, a specific written description of…
Owner or Author – What’s the Difference?
Just because you wrote it doesn’t mean you own it. Just because you painted it doesn’t mean you own it. Just because you recorded it doesn’t mean you own it. This list could go on and on because copyright law views the creator of a work and the owner of the legal rights to the…
3 Brands that Recovered their Reputations after Disasters
In the course of a business operation, there are many small hills to traverse and a heap of problems to solve. But, when facing mountains, see how these three companies worked to redeem their reputations after a large setback. Burberry Burberry Limited was established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry as a luxury fashion company. It gained…
How to Protect Your Invention Before It’s Too Late
If your invention has already been offered for sale to the public, then you’ve probably lost your opportunity to patent it. There was a time when you could try to sell your invention before you filed for a patent. Inventors had one year from the date they first tried to sell their inventions to file…