Business Owner Trademark Copyright Primer

Trademark & Copyright

Primer for

Business Owners

Wei Wei Jeang, Esq.

[email protected]

469.878.8643

www.GeneralCounselHub.com

Copyright 2015 Wei Wei Jeang. All rights reserved.

Trademark

• Any “word, name, symbol, or device (shape, color,

smell, sound), or combinations thereof”

• Identifies the source of the product or service

• Commercial identity and goodwill & reputation

• Trademark rights established based on use

• Can be your most valuable asset


Trademark


Trademark

Common Law Rights

• Actual use

• Geographic scope of

actual use

Federal Registration

• Actual use or intent-to-

use

• Geographic scope is

nationwide


Trademark

• Use TM for trademark not federally registered

• Use ® for federally registered trademark

• Examples:


Trademark

• Highly advisable to register your trademarks with

USPTO

• Company name

• Product name

• Logo

• Slogan


Trademark

• Federal Registration

• Legal Presumption of Ownership

• Legal Presumption of Exclusive Right to Use Mark

• Public Notice of Ownership

• Recordation with U.S. Customs & Border Protection

• Can Sue Infringer in Federal Court

• Nationwide Geographical Scope


Trademark

• Domain Name ≠ Federal Trademark Registration

• Business Name Registration with State ≠

Federal Trademark Registration


Trademark

• Pick unique trademark

• Must not be confusingly similar to another mark

• Sound alike, look alike, same commercial impression

for similar goods/services


Trademark

• Pick strong trademark

• Must not be Descriptive or Generic

Fanciful or

ArbitrarySuggestiveDescriptiveGeneric


Trademark

• Generic: MILK for dairy-based drink

• Descriptive: BRIGHT for flashlight

Fanciful or



Trademark

• Suggestive: OASIS for cold beverage

• Fanciful: XEROX, CISCO, MICROSOFT

• Arbitrary: APPLE, BLACKBERRY, GAP

Fanciful or



Trademark

• Common Problems:

• Descriptive

• No search before picking trademark

• Improper usage

• Use © with trademarks


Trademark

• Proper Usage:

• Use different font or capitalize to set apart

• Use as adjective

• Don’t use as noun or verb

• Don’t pluralize

• Don’t use mark in the possessive


Trademark

• YES:

• Buy TIDE detergent

• The whitening power of Tide detergent

• Make a copy on the XEROX copier

• Buy 3 COCA-COLA soft drinks

• NO:

• Buy TIDE

• TIDE’s whitening

power

• Xerox this report

• Buy 3 Coca-Colas


Copyright

• Protect a work of authorship

• Examples: photograph, drawing, painting,

lyrics, music recording, video/movie, literary

text, computer code, screen layout, user

manual


Copyright

• Two requirements:

1. Fixed in a tangible medium

2. Original


Copyright

• Ownership is in the author by default

• “Hiring” a photographer to take photos

• “Hiring” writer to write product description

• “Hiring” computer programmer to create code

• Owning a copy ≠ owning copyright


Copyright

• By default:

• Author is employee => Employer owns

• Author is independent contractor => Author

owns

• Must have agreement with independent

contractor that spells out ownership!


Copyright

• Be aware of using images taken off the Internet

• Best to design or shoot your own graphics and images and not take short cuts

• Amazon.com will remove listing upon complaint from copyright owner

• Possible statutory damages of up to $150,000 per violation


Copyright

• Ownership rights:

1. Make copies

2. Create a derivative work

3. Sell, distribute, transmit copy

4. Perform, display in public


Copyright

• Common law copyright

• Federally registered copyright

• Presumption of valid copyright

• Public notice

• Statutory damages

• Required before lawsuit


Copyright

• Consider registering

1. Photographs used in product listing

2. Photographs and graphics used on packaging

3. Product description

4. User manual


Copyright

• Federal copyright registration

• Simple form

• $35 or $55 filing fee (online)


Combat Counterfeit Product

• Purchase counterfeit product

• Take pictures of packaging & product

• Capture screenshots of unauthorized use of

trademarks and copyrighted materials

• File complaint with [email protected] and

[email protected]

• Get a lawyer involved


Business Owner Trademark Copyright Primer

Documents

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