The best way to avoid future problems with your brand is to select a strong brand from the outset. Doing so properly has the added benefit of increasing the value of your brand, especially when you properly use the trademark and enforce it against infringers. Not all words or names can be protected as trademarks. For example, no one business can claim exclusive rights in generic terms because every business owner in the same industry needs to be able to use them to identify t

Orange County Lawyer magazine published my article, How to drive your trademark attorney completely bonkers in 10 easy steps, in its May 2022 edition. The article is serialized here as follows: Step 8. Don’t create a written set of guidelines for how to use your trademarks. Then, when I try to explain that trademark license agreements give the licensor the leverage they need to ensure that their trademarks are used properly and consistently, I also explain that a good license

Orange County Lawyer magazine published my article, How to drive your trademark attorney completely bonkers in 10 easy steps, in its May 2022 edition. The article is serialized here as follows: Step 4. Never file an application to register your trademark. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard clients say, “Trademark registrations are a waste of good money. After all, U.S. trademark law allows you to enforce your trademark even if you have no active registrations on fil

Orange County Lawyer magazine published my article, How to drive your trademark attorney completely bonkers in 10 easy steps, in its May 2022 edition. The article is serialized here as follows: Last Friday, I was at my local brew pub hanging out with friends after a long week at the office. We were sharing war stories and griping to one another about how our clients, customers, and patients often refused to take the advice they were paying us to give them. “Why do they come t

What happens when one of the world's most popular video game franchises repeatedly uses images of one of the best known military vehicles...

The best way to avoid future problems with your brand is to select a strong brand from the outset. Doing so properly has the added benefit of increasing the value of your brand, especially when you properly use the trademark and enforce it against infringers. Not all words or names can be protected as trademarks. For example, no one business can claim exclusive rights in generic terms because every business owner in the same industry needs to be able to use them to identify t