Imagine this scenario. You are remodeling your house, old wooden panels have been torn down, nails are sticking out of upended planks, opened cans of paint and used paint brushes are all over the drop cloths. There are cracked tiles in the kitchen and bathroom and exposed wires from moving the stove around. Your one-year baby is taking first steps and is constantly falling, crawling or attempting to walk. As a concerned parent, will you leave your baby exposed to rusty nails and open electric wires? Absolutely not. No parent in his or her right mind will leave a child exposed to such harm.
Unfortunately, entrepreneurs aren't always as vigilant in protecting with their own "brain-children," such as their potential trademarks (you were wondering about the connection, weren't you!). Creativity is often an intuitive process. The procedures for protecting and enforcing creativity are not. Trademark dreams can evaporate like smoke if you're not careful. Here are a few samplings of the common pitfalls that can harm your "baby."
1.Leaping before you look. Most entrepreneurs are so eager to get started on their new company by buying expensive stationery, advertising space, paying for publicity consultants and promotional materials that they fail to check if they can enforce or protect their trademark. It is a great disappointment, not to mention monetary loss, to find out that their trademark can be freely used or that someone has already come up with the same bright idea. No matter how clever your idea or marketing campaign is, as an entrepreneur, you must stop at each step of the creative process to ask (i)if you can adequately protect what you are creating? And (ii) what do you have to do? Do you have answers for these questions?
2.Is it original? Small business owners can be so caught up by their own enthusiasm that they fully subscribe to a belief, sometimes mistakenly, that the trademark is wholly original. Thus, they fail to conduct a proper search, or any search. Just checking through the US Patent and Trademark Office is insufficient as the database only contains information filed and registered with the Trademark Office and there can be many similar expressions of trademarks that are not registered. The Trademark Office reviews exact and similar marks and you have to take care you are not infringing on someone else's trademark, by choosing a name or a design that is too similar. At any stage of your business, you do not want to expose yourself to a trademark infringement suit against your company. Ensure your search is thorough and complete.
3. Over-emphasizing domain names. An available domain name is no indication of an available trademark. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is only in charge of assigning domain names and has no connection with the Trademark Office. Just because a matching domain name is available does not mean that trademark is yours to own. Check beyond GoDaddy.
4. Using generic or descriptive marks. The purpose of a trademark or a service mark (for services) is to separate your product or services from that of another. That is the reason as to why the Trademark Office examines both identical and similar marks. If you use a generic or common term such as "Shampoo", how is ya customer to differentiate your product from that of a competitor's?. What separates your product from the other shampoos that pack the shelves in the drugstore? Hemp Shampoo is a slight improvement but a clear trademark is Head & Shoulders® Shampoo. That is a standout. Do you have a distinctive and easily recognizable mark?
5. Lack of monitoring. Once you have a trademark, you have to protect it or run the risk of losing it. Registering your trademark with the Trademark Office is not the end of the road. You must constantly look out for infringers who are misusing your brand. Infringers are those who are using your trademark, without authorization, on goods or services either identical to or similar to yours. It is your responsibility to take action against infringers, such as filing a suit against them to stop further infringement. Are you looking out for infringers?
Make sure you do not throw out the baby with the bathwater by being careless and insufficiently vigilant with protecting your intellectual property. Avoid mishaps and ensure proper preservation for your trademark by consulting an experienced attorney who understands all the aspects of trademark and intellectual property law.
Copyright (c) 2009 Ask The Business Lawyer
Article Directory : http://www.articlecube.com
