Don’t Give Up Your IP During this Crisis by Intellectual Property Attorney Bill Honaker, the IP Guy Don’t lose valuable IP rights due to the Coronavirus. We’ve heard the rallying cry, “Defeat the invisible enemy”? No, the other one, “Conserve the cash.” Businesses of all sizes are trying to conserve their cash during this crisis. […]
Originally Posted July 19, 2021 Updated December 22, 2022 Ohio State University recently registered the word “THE” as its trademark. Ohio State has registered the word “the” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Everyone I have talked to about this has the same reaction. Can you register a common word? Of course, you […]
The most important step to strong trademark protection Your trademark is likely your most valuable Intellectual Property Asset. If you chose a strong trademark, it will grow in value as your business reputation grows. A trademark is actually a form of protection for your business reputation. It’s what consumers use to identify you. It is […]
Originally Posted December 21, 2021 Updated December 8, 2022 Your trademark may be your most valuable asset and should be protected. The best way to protect your mark is to register it. You can register a mark with the United States Trademark Office, state trademark offices, and in other countries. The best approach depends […]
Trademarks identify goods or services coming from a single source and can include business or product names, logos or slogans. Some examples of trademarks are the name Nike, the Coca-Cola bottle shape and the sound of the light saber from “Star Wars.” In the United States, common law trademark protection is limited to the geographic area […]
Originally Posted June 28, 2021 Updated September 29, 2022 IP rights have never been more valuable. A well-managed IP portfolio can be worth one third or more of the total value of your business. Unfortunately, most businesses treat IP as an afterthought. Even if you don’t, you can still lose valuable rights by falling into […]
A quick summary of where we left off. A doctor creates a new product with a distinctive trademark. He registers it with the United States Trademark Office. He approaches a big box store that is interested. But a few weeks later, they launch their own product with his trademark. We talked about option’s including filing […]
You don’t know what you don’t know; and it can be costly. Recently, I got a call from Bob Smith. Bob’s a doctor and a budding entrepreneur. He was upset. He said one of the big box stores had stolen his trademark. He explained that he had developed a hand sanitizer that was easier on […]
Don’t make the same mistake when choosing your trademark The Cleveland Indians whiffed big time when they decided to change their name to the Guardians. There was already a Cleveland Guardians team. The Cleveland Guardians roller derby team filed a lawsuit claiming trademark infringement. C’mon man! If the roller derby team did use Cleveland Guardians […]
It can be your most valuable asset Forbes reported in 2017 that Apple’s trademark was worth $170 billion, representing 21% of the company’s market value. With Apple hitting $1 trillion in market value, it’s now worth around $210 billion. Other top valued trademarks are Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and Coca-Cola. All having trademarks worth billions. […]
