Get Your Intellectual Property In Order | January 23, 2012

 

Welcome to 2012! It’s a new year, a fresh start, the time of year when we make resolutions to do things differently, better or just actually do them. What’s your new year resolution? If you’re a business owner, chances are you have some personal resolutions and some professional ones.

 

This year, make a resolution to get your Intellectual Property house in order. Those nagging little things like trademarks, copyrights, patents and contracts you know you should do but just never got around to last year. This is a resolution worth keeping and we promise it’s one of the best decisions you can make for your business.

Here’s our checklist of top things to get started in protecting the intangible assets of your company:

 

1. Register your intellectual property. Let’s say you were fortunate enough to receive an iPhone or a Kindle for Christmas. What’s the first thing you did after opening the box? You logged on to “register your device,” didn’t you? You created a record that the iPhone or Kindle belongs to you and you have proof of ownership through registration.

 

Intellectual property works exactly the same way. Bolster your legal rights with a federal trademark registration at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a registered copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, or a registered patent from the USPTO. These measures create enforceable rights in your favor if you are ever in the position of defending your right of priority use and/or ownership.

 

2. Search your brand. Search your company or brand name every so often just to see what shows up, you may be surprised. A low-maintenance way to keep track of things on the Internet that may be of interest to you is to set up a Google Alert for your brand name (Bing may also offer this service). Google will send you daily or weekly alerts of any articles, websites or content containing your designated keyword(s).

 

3. Maintain consistency. Ensure your brand is represented consistently each and every time it’s used, by you and especially by others. If your logo includes a stylized font, special capitalization or other unique identifiers, be sure it is always used and represented that way. This ensures the strength and consistency of your trademark and will work in your favor in case of possible infringement where someone may not use your exact mark or wording, but something very similar in sound or appearance.

 

4. Take advantage of legal tools. One of the most common tools for intellectual property protection is a Confidentiality and Non-Circumvention Agreement. It’s a relatively simple document, it can be reworked for various counter-parties, and it provides some measure of enforceable protection when sharing business ideas, concepts and innovations with others. It’s not foolproof, no contract is, but it is a written record of your mutual understanding regarding origination, ownership, confidentiality and financial gain, if any.

 

These are just a few suggestions to help you keep your Intellectual Property Protection resolution for 2012. If you need any assistance or additional information on these tips, please give us a call, (800) 769-7790. On behalf of the attorneys at Minott Gore, P.A. and FlatFeeTrademark.com, we wish you a very prosperous and well-protected new year!

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Attorney Serena Minott Featured in ABA Magazine! | January 10, 2012

We have exciting news! Founding Minott Gore attorney Serena Minott has been featured in the ABA Perspectives Magazine, a publication of the American Bar Association. The article features women attorneys who made a major career transition while staying within the practice of law.

 

As a former large firm alumni in Washington D.C., Attorney Minott considered trading in her legal hat to enter the world of entrepreneurship. Fortunately, she realized the issue was not practicing law but rather the nature of her work in a large firm. Serena found a happy medium by establishing her own law firm, Minott Gore, P.A., which she founded with Attorney Keesonga Gore, another large firm alum, in July 2007. Attorneys Minott and Gore set out to build a new kind of law practice,  one focused on high quality, relationship-based representation for small business owners and entrepreneurs. See the excerpt of Serena’s interview below.

Serena Minott, a formerly disillusioned big-firm associate, also suggests forging your own path. “I was really tempted to walk away from the law entirely, but I gave it another go because I believed I could build a different kind of practice actually enjoying what I do,” explains the cofounder of Minott Gore, P.A., a Miami-based trademark and corporate firm launched in July 2007. “When you’re an associate, the pace is fast. You turn in your work and move on to something else. Today we represent small-business owners in a very relationship-based practice. Every day I’m excited to go to work because I love talking to and working with clients.

 

To read the full article, please see the Fall 2011 edition of ABA Perspectives Magazine, or download it here.

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Our Attorneys are Featured in The New York Times! | November 29, 2011

 

Minott Gore attorneys Serena Minott and Keesonga Gore have been featured in The New York Times! The article chronicles the trend of entrepreneurial attorneys who are leaving the partnership track at large law firms to start their own practices. The feature includes several attorneys who have hung out their shingle over the past five years and achieved success on their own terms. The print version appeared in The New York Times on Thursday, November 24.

Attorneys Minott and Gore started their legal careers at large, multinational law firms in Washington D.C. Attorney Minott worked as an associate at Dewey LeBoeuf, LLP and Attorney Gore worked as an associate at SNR Denton, LLP.  After spending several years at these firms, honing their legal skills, knowledge base and expertise, Attorneys Minott and Gore left to start their own law practice where they could focus more on client relationships and build a meaningful practice serving the needs of small businesses and emerging entrepreneurs. They founded the Law Office of Minott Gore, P.A. in July 2007. The firm’s practice includes all aspects of trademark law, trademark protection and business law.

 

Read the full article and find out how our attorneys handle the business of managing a law firm here.

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Shop Small This Holiday Season | November 21, 2011

 
American Express has rolled out its second annual Small Business Saturday campaign, just in time for the holidays, encouraging all of us to Shop Small this Saturday, November 26. So after you’ve completely exhausted yourself at the big-box stores, looking for parking and hunting down imaginary deals that only exist for the first 20 customers who arrived at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, do yourself and your neighbors a favor and support a small business in your community. Shop Small is all about supporting our neighbors, friends, families and entrepreneurs all across America to keep the dream of business ownership alive. And we’re all for that. For more information, visit Small Business Saturday.
 

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Who Really Owns the Content of Your Website? | October 29, 2011

 

Chances are your business has a website (or it should). With the proliferation of websites and web content comes questions of who actually owns the material we find online, how can we use that material and how do we protect the intellectual property (IP) of our own websites.

If you’ve ever pulled a photograph off the Internet without paying royalties, or used a software program without the proper license, read on. In this issue of E-Forum, we discuss the intersection of e-commerce and IP rights and we turn to the IP genuises at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for guidance.

 

What elements of your website can be protected?
Many parts of your website may be protected by different types of IP rights. For example:

• E-commerce systems, search engines or other technical Internet tools may be protected by patents or utility models;
• Software (e.g., HTML code) can be protected by copyright and/or patents;
• Your website design is likely to be protected by copyright;
• Creative website content, such as written material, photographs, graphics, music and videos, may be protected by copyright;
• Business names, logos, product names, domain names and other signs posted on your website may be protected as trademarks;
• Computer-generated graphic symbols, screen displays, graphic user interfaces and even webpages may be protected by industrial design law;
• Hidden aspects of your website can be protected by trade secret law, as long as they are not disclosed to the public and you have taken reasonable steps to keep them secret.

 

How to protect your website
Some precautionary measures are necessary to protect a website from abusive use. To protect your IP rights early on, you should:

• Register your trademarks;
• Register a domain name that is user-friendly and reflects your trademark, business name or character of your business. If your domain name can also be registered as a trademark, then it is advisable to do so, since it strengthens your power to enforce your rights against anyone else who tries to use the name to market similar products and services, and prevents someone else from registering the same name as a trademark;
• Think about patenting online business methods, where possible;
• Register your website and copyright material where possible;
• Post notices and IP symbols (the registered trademark ®, and/or copyright © symbols) to let others know your content is subject to IP protection.
• Take precautions about disclosure of your trade secrets. Make sure that all who might get to know about your confidential business information are bound by a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement;
• Consider to take an IP insurance policy that would cover your legal costs should you need to take enforcement action against infringers. Make sure that its existence is known about, for example by posting a notice on your website. This could deter potential infringers.

 

Who owns the IP rights in your website?
A typical website is a collage of components often owned by different persons. For example, one company may own rights in the navigation software; others may own copyright in photographs, graphics and text; and yet another person may own copyright in the design of your site.

If you pay a person to develop your website, who owns the copyright?
If your website has been developed by your employees who are employed for this purpose, then, in most countries, you (as the employer) would own the copyright over the website, unless you otherwise agreed with your employees. However, for a small business, this is rarely the case.

Most companies outsource the creation of their website design and/or content to an outside contractor, and assume they own IP rights in it because they paid for the work. Beware! You may be surprised to find out that you do not own the IP rights in what has been created for you. Independent contractors (contrary to employees) usually own IP rights in the works they create – even if you have paid for it – unless otherwise agreed in a written contract. Without a valid, written agreement transferring to you all these rights, you may end up owning nothing except perhaps a non-exclusive license to use your own site.

 

Can you use material owned by others on your website?
Current technology makes it fairly easy to use material created by others – film and television clips, music, graphics, photographs, software, text, etc. – in your website. The technical ease of using and copying these works does not give you the legal right to do so. Using material without getting permission – either by obtaining an “assignment” or a “license” – can have dire consequences. Consider the following:

 

(a) Using technical tools owned by others – If you are using an e-commerce system, search engine or other technical Internet tool for your website, make sure that you have a written license agreement, and get it checked over by a lawyer before you sign it and before any design or installation of the site begins.

 

(b) Using software owned by others – Packaged software is often licensed to you upon purchase. The terms and conditions of the license (called “shrink-wrap licenses”) are often contained in the package, which can be returned if you do not agree with them. By opening the package you are deemed to have accepted the terms of the agreement.

 

(c) Using copyrighted works owned by others – If you want to put up any written material, photos, videos, music, logos, art work, cartoons, original databases, training manuals, drawings, etc. on your website that do not belong to you, you usually need a written permission from the copyright owner. Even if you use just a part of a copyrighted work, you will generally need authorization. Note also that material on the Internet or stored on web servers is protected by copyright in the same way as works published through any other means. Just because you obtain material from the Internet does not mean that you can download or reproduce it freely.

 

(d) Using trademarks owned by others – Many websites contain discussions of products and services of other companies. There is usually nothing wrong with identifying competitors’ products on your website by using their trademarks. However, you should avoid using a trademark in a way that might cause confusion among consumers as to the source or sponsorship of the webpage. Such use might well constitute trademark infringement or an act of unfair competition.

 

(e) Using others’ likenesses – In many countries, the name, face, image or voice of an individual are protected by publicity and privacy rights. The area of protection is regulated differently by country. Before using such elements on your website, it would be advisable to check the applicable laws and to request permission, if needed.

 

There is much more to keep in mind when using IP on your website and to properly protect your own IP content. If you have specific questions about your website, we’re happy to talk with you about it. Give us a call at 800.769.7790 or send us an email at info@flatfeetrademark.com.

 

Portions of this publication were reproduced with permission from the World Intellectual Property Organization, owner of the copyright.

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Do YOU Have What It Takes… | September 2, 2011

 

To be an entrepreneur? It’s not an easy road and there are very few guideposts along the way to let you know you’re heading in the right direction or towards possible financial and emotional ruin. As my grandmother always says, if it was easy, everyone would do it. So do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? What are the most important lessons? Challenges, pitfalls, triumphs? Who do you turn to for guidance, advice?

 

As business law attorneys serving entrepreneurs and small business owners, we have first hand insight into the inner workings of some really interesting companies and business concepts. How they conceived the idea, how they project revenues, investment and profitability, how they handle competition, and how they plan to handle long-term growth. Some of them work, really well, and others, maybe less so.

 

One company, we can all agree, that seems to have it all figured out (at least in the business sense), is Facebook. So what can start-ups, business owners and would-be entrepreneurs learn from the social media behemoth? Click here to find out what Mahendra Ramsinghani has to say on the matter over at The Huffington Post.

 

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