Falls Church Chamber May 2010 - Final

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“Leveraging Your Brand’s Intellectual Property”

Enhance the strength and value of your brand

by creating and protecting trademarks and copyrights

© 2010 Erik M. Pelton & Associates, PLLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Two Black Cards?

VISA “Black Card”

-$450 annual fee

-Widespread promotion

American Express “Centurion” card

-Nickname the “Black Card”

-$2500 annual fee

-Very exclusive



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Why protect the brand name?

• Potential harm to American Express

– Diluted brand

– Diminished perception of “exclusivity”

– Confusion / lost customers

– Lost $$

• Cost of Registration

– USPTO filing fee = $325

• Cost of Litigation – Many thousands of dollars



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20 Years Ago• Much less content• Brands and marketing were much simpler

Today•Easy to have national or global reach online•Greater opportunity for copying at low or no cost

•Content multiplying rapidly

IP is everywhere today



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I.P. important to many types of business



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Intellectual Property is Everywhere

– Trademarks:

• Brand names, logo, slogans

– Copyrights:

• Audio, video, photos• Software

• Articles, websites

• advertisements, brochures

– Some of the ways IP is generated and distributed:• websites

• Facebook, Twitter, social media pages

• newsletters, articles



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It is easy to start protecting your IP

• First Steps:

•Create it

• Use it

• Identify it



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Protecting Trademarks

• Clearance Search before adopting names – U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov)

– Check major search engines

– Professional searches available from several sources

– Consider various spellings, sounds, spacings, meanings

• Stronger Names – easier to protect

– The more unique, the stronger the brand – more memorable –and the stronger the legal protections

– Examples: Strong vs Weak• Flippin’ Pizza or New York Pie

• Vantage Fitness or 24 Hour Exercise

• Dancing Moon Studios or Falls Church Yoga

http://www.uspto.gov/

http://www.uspto.gov/



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Protecting Trademarks, continued…

• Registration with U.S.P.T.O.

– Government fling fees approx. $300

– Many benefits – nationwide notice, ®, additional protections andoptions in court if infringed

– Creates a tangible asset that can be licensed or sold• Proper Notice and Use

– TM (goods) or SM (services) prior to registration

– ® once registered

–Make brand stand out – use bold or italics• Place provisions in contracts

• Create free Google® Alerts for main brand names



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Protecting Copyrights

• Rights begin when the work is created – registration not required

• Proper notice

– © 2010 Erik M. Pelton & Associates, PLLC. All Rights Reserved.

– Use at beginning and/or end of all materials

–Web pages, brochures, articles, photos, videos• Registration enhances rights and creates a more tangible asset

– Register with Library of Congress

– Fee = approx. $50 per registration

– www.loc.gov/copyright for information and forms

• Include clauses in contracts – Contracts with employees, contractors, etc.

– Website terms of use / membership agreements• Particularly important given ease of copying materials online

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http://www.loc.gov/copyright

http://www.loc.gov/copyright



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Patents

• Inventions such as machines, products, businesses processes – Can even include chemicals, plant varieties• Patent Registration

– Gives owner exclusive right to make, use and sell the design or mechanics of an invention

– invention must be new (never before discovered) and unobvious

(not just a logical next step) – Grants the owner the sole right to make or sell the invention for

20 years.• Generally more complicated and expensive

– Expensive to register

– Expensive to enforce• If you believe you may have patentable materials do not wait – there are timing requirements once the invention has been

disclosed – Consult an attorney

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Why Should My Business Care about I.P.?

• Strong Intellectual Property Can:

– Help your business stand out from the crowd of competitors

• Make an impact with consumers

• One you have a strong brand, customers come to you

• Differentiate you from the competition by providing valuable contentto customers and potential customers

– Adds $$ value to your business

• Potential sale of intellectual property or business as a whole

• Potential license of intellectual property

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Why Should My BusinessProtect Its Intellectual Property?

• Harm to brand if content is duplicated which

– delivers customers to the competition, or

– damages your brand by association with a lower quality

competitor

• The stronger your I.P., the more difficult it is for someone to copy

• With stronger IP, it is generally quicker and cheaper to enforce

– Actual costs of changing a brand can large, plus the impact it

has on relationships with customers – Costs of enforcement can be large if there are lots of copycats or a need to go to court

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Conclusion

• You have lots of IP

• Create it, identify it, protect it!

• Take 30 minutes to review your I.P.

– pick 3 most valuable items to focus on protecting

DISCLAIMER:

Content is not legal advice.

If you have questions, consult an attorney.

© 2010 Erik M. Pelton & Associates, PLLC. All Rights Reserved.

Falls Church Chamber May 2010 - Final

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