Archive for the ‘Law’ Category

Nov

15

What Solopreneurs Can Learn from ING’s Failed Trademark Efforts

November 15th, 2011 by Jeffrey Fabian | Posted in Branding, Law

As I discussed in this article for TheSolopreneurLife.com last year, “generic” terms cannot be protected as trademarks. Trademarks serve the function of distinguishing product and service providers in the marketplace, and generic terms fail to serve this purpose because they simply identify products/services themselves — and not their source of origin.

This is a critical rule to keep in mind, and my prior article provides a more in-depth discussion of what can and cannot be protected as a trademark.

Importantly, however, deciding whether a term is “generic” might not be as clear-cut as you would think. A recent trademark proceeding involving banking and investment giant ING makes this point clear.

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Apr

21

I Nearly Fell For This Small-Business Scam

April 21st, 2011 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Law

You know about the Nigerian-royalty bank-scam letters, right? Here’s a new one that I nearly fell for tonight.

The scam involves an entity that poses as the “department of registration service in China.” The email I received tonight, signed “Howie Gao, Senior Consultant” tried to convince me that my trademark for “The Solopreneur Life” was under attack overseas, and I needed to respond within 7 days in order to protect it.

I was vulnerable to the fraud because I received the trademark three weeks ago, and I’m still excited about having gotten it. My heart rate jumped immediately after reading “Mr. Gao’s” email. I wanted to respond right away, but I had the good sense to do some digging first.

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Apr

09

Quick Advice For Solopreneurs on Applying For a Trademark

April 9th, 2011 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Law

I found out yesterday that my trademark application for The Solopreneur Life has been approved! The approval wraps up an application process with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that took nearly one year.

I was able to navigate the process by myself, but I wouldn’t recommend the DIY approach. Your trademark application is one of the most important things you’ll ever do for your business, and you probably can’t afford to make mistakes that will cost you time and money.

For example, my initial application was missing a required element; without the oversight, the process would’ve taken only five or six months.

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Feb

09

Independent Contractor Agreements (and Why Solopreneurs Need to Use Them)

February 9th, 2011 by Jeffrey Fabian | Posted in Law

Within the solopreneur community, independent contractor relationships are a way of life. Solepreneurs hire other solopreneurs to develop their Web sites, write their advertising copy, develop their customer contracts, maintain their books, and carry out their SEO and PPC advertising campaigns.

However, solopreneurs often overlook the importance of memorializing these relationships in writing. Beyond being able to enforce a contractor’s basic promises to perform, putting independent contractor agreements in writing can also be essential to establishing ownership rights in intellectual property.

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Oct

28

An Introduction to Trademarks for the Uninitiated Solopreneur

October 28th, 2010 by Jeffrey Fabian | Posted in Law

This article was written by Jeffrey Fabian, the owner of Fabian, LLC, a Baltimore, Maryland-based law firm that assists business owners with clearing and registering trademarks, and with developing and protecting comprehensive intellectual property portfolios. Visit www.fabianlegal.com or email jeff@fabianlegal.com for more information.

For any solopreneur contemplating a new business venture, one thing that inevitably comes to mind early in the development process is the need to adopt a unique and recognizable brand name under which to market the business’s products or services. This is rightfully so. Indeed, a protectable and recognizable trademark is one of the most important pieces of intellectual property that a new enterprise can invest in before bringing its products or services to market. This article provides a brief overview of the basic legal concerns and implications associated with adopting and seeking to register a new trademark.

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