A New Newsletter

So apparently when you go on an extended vacation, it takes quite a bit of time to get back up to speed. I'm at about 40mph in a 60mph zone - almost there. That being said, no new post today but how's about a new newsletter.

TradeMark Express launched a newsletter back in March - check it out here. And sign up for it here.

I'll be gearing up to 60, I promise. See you soon!

Taking a Break

The TradeMark Express blog will be on a short recess for a couple of days but a new post will be back up on Tuesday, April 24th.

Remember, Thursdays are YOUR days so if you have a question, comment or email me. I'm more than happy to post your web site and/or contact information, so it's also free advertising for you.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

Trademark Information

Trademarks:
International Classes Continued…

Let's pick up where we left off last week and continue looking further into the trademark international class system.

A wildly popular class number is easily international class 25, the clothing class. Almost any type of clothing you can think of falls into this classification, except protective clothing. International class 25 also contains shoes and hats.

The USPTO requires that when filing in the clothing class you be specific and boy, do they mean specific. Just saying clothing is not going to cut it. Each and every item must be listed.

What if you're selling t-shirts today but know you want to sell jackets, jeans, shoes, etc. later on?

If you're filing as an In Use application, be honest. List all the items you are currently selling because sending that application off means you signed (even an electronic signature counts!) a document stating that "all statements made of his/her own knowledge are true."

If you're in the situation where you know you'll have other items coming out, you may want to consider filing as an Intent-to-Use. Feel free to drop me a line should you have questions about these issues.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

Summary of all International Classifications
Trademark Information

Trademark:
International Classes

Trademark offices around the world use an international classification system to categorize various products and services. When filing a trademark, a class number is assigned according to the goods/services description portion of the application. Many countries base their trademark filing fee on the number of classes filed, the US being one of them.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to take the time to explore a number of these classes a bit further in hopes of providing further insight.

Let's start with the newest kids on the block, International Class numbers 43, 44 and 45. It all starts out very Nice (a little trademark humor for you…*sigh* ;) yeah, yeah I know).

The Nice Classification is based on a multilateral treaty administered by WIPO. This treaty is called the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks

And that's the longwinded way of saying that most trademark offices around the world have agreed upon one classification system for products and services.

In 2002 the 8th edition of the Nice Agreement came out, which consisted of a restructuring of International Class 42, the class formerly known as "services that cannot be classified elsewhere." It now goes by the moniker "Scientific and technological services and research" – more about that at a later date.

Another effect of this Agreement was the creation of the 3 aforementioned classes.

International Class 43 aka Food and drink services

This class, obviously, contains your restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc. But it's also the classification for hotels, day care centers, "providing a database in the field of recipes and cooking information" and the like.

044 aka Medical and veterinary services

Health care & veterinary services but also hair styling, garden care, massage and nail salons

045 aka Personal and Social services

Adoption services, foster care, guardianship, etc. are in this class. But there are also services such as house sitting, hotel concierge services (note how it's not in the same class as hotel services), pet sitting and real estate settlement services.

Just this past January a 9th edition of the Nice Agreement was put into force – no new classes but a shifting around of certain products & services happened. To read further, click here.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

Summary of all International Classifications
Trademark Information

Money Money Money

That's the stuff that seems to vanish into thin air when starting a business. From talking to thousands of small business owners over the years, that's the one thing that's in short supply. Every time you turn around, somebody wants money for something.

A little tip – when hiring a company for certain services, ask if they offer payment plans. Any service company that caters to the small business owner should understand the financial burden starting a business entails & well, it never hurts to ask. TradeMark Express started a payment plan option years ago and while it requires a bit more effort in the bookkeeping department, the benefit it provides to our clients is more than worth it.

Business loans are a viable option for many folks and, like anything I talk about here, research this process fully before you embroil yourself into something like this.

To get started, I suggest contacting the Small Business Administration (SBA). Entrepreneur also offers a great site dedicated to money & finance.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the process. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* How to Get a Small Business Loan: A Banker Shows You Exactly What to Do to Get a Loan (Small Business Series, No 1) by Bryan E. Milling
* The SBA Loan Book: Get A Small Business Loan--even With Poor Credit, Weak Collateral, And No Experience by Charles H. Green
* Secrets Lenders Never Told You: Get Your Business Loan Approved by Patricia H. Wesson

There are plenty of free informational resources out there:

• Get Yourself Started with Small Business Loans by Tim Kelly
• Small Business Lenders by Matt Bacak
• Small Business Loans for Small Business Owners by David Gass
• Small Business Loan Basics by Joseph Kenny

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

A VIS (Very Important Step) for your New Business

:) <3>

As internet speak and emoticons become more and more prevalent, it only stands to reason that folks are going to start capitalizing on it, which in turn leads to them wanting to protect their work.

So, do you trademark or copyright these symbols?

Actually, you can do both. Let's look at examples of each.

Copyrights:

Now there are a countless number of emoticons/face images out there but if you do happen to create a new one look into filing for a copyright. Yahoo ® did & you can see that record here.

Trademarks:

If you are using emoticons/face images in connection with products and/or services, consider filing for a trademark. Of course, comprehensive research is needed first to ensure that no other party has attempted the same. The USPTO even has a new design code designation just for emoticons.

Plenty of people have already capitalized on this new 'language' in terms of trademarks. Despair Inc has done so for their line of greeting cards, posters & art prints. Check out their products here. To see their USPTO filing, go to the USPTO Status Page and enter in the Serial Number 75502288.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

Trademark Information
What good is a logo anyhow?
You Sure It's a Copyright You Need?

Should I Trademark My Band Name?

Using this question as inspiration, I thought it'd be a good idea to examine this topic further.

The decision on whether or not to trademark is not an exact science. It's certainly not going to fit every business' plans. You'll need to gauge your plans, your goals and your dreams. Just because your business is small now does not mean that it will always stay that way.

But whether or not to trademark a band name is a bit stickier. The same principles apply in that you'll have to determine the long term goals.

A few questions to consider that should help you make the decision about whether or not to trademark your band name or your artist name:

1) How serious are you about this business called show?

Is your band something you do with your buddies every now & again? Or is this a full-time gig? If your band is your career, think of it that way.

2) Are you touring?

If you're touring all over your state, all over the country, all over the world, then your name is out there for all to see and to know.

3) Got a CD? CDs?

If your band has published your tunes onto a CD or CDs, where are they being sold? At shows? On-line?

It basically comes down to how serious you are about your music career. If entertainment's the field you know you're going to be in, then take the steps to protect yourself now.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

Trademark Information

Trademark Headlines

• Larry Birkhead Will Not Trademark Anna Nicole Smith Phrase

• Orange County man wants to trademark name of communities

• Canada to trademark 'winter' for 2010 Olympics

Remember, Thursdays are YOUR days so if you have a question, comment or email me: Shannon at tmexpress dot com. I'm more than happy to post your web site and/or contact information, so it's also free advertising for you.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

Trademark Information

Piecing Together the Business Plan

Using last week's post as inspiration, I thought it'd be a good idea to delve a bit deeper into the different components of a business plan.

Another inspiration point is Lance Winslow's article Sample Business Plan Outline, which I also recommended last week.

Using Lance's extensive outline, I found further reading for each of his main headings

1) Executive Summary:

• e-Business plan tutorial
• Business Basics…by Mike Volker

2) Objectives:

• AllBusiness - Business plans include vision, mission statement, and objectives, don't they? What's the difference?

3) Company & Industry Analysis

• Company Analysis section of Growthink's Business Plan Development Guide
• Rutger's page on Industry Analysis

4) Marketing Analysis

• INC's Write a Marketing Analysis that Will Simply Dazzle
• MarketingProfs.com marketing FAQs

5) Management

• INC's Making the Most of Your Management Team

6) Operations

• e-Business plan tutorial

7) Legal Strategies

• Prentice Hall's Key Points page

8) Financial Strategies

• HowStuffWorks

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

A VIS (Very Important Step) for your New Business

Copyright Headlines

• EMI to offer music on iTunes without software for protecting its copyrights

• Copyrights and Copy Wrongs

• Company polices online copyrights

• ISU Ranks High With Copyright Infringements

• Stanford launches Copyright Renewal Database
o Stanford's Copyright Renewal Database


TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

You Sure It's a Copyright You Need?

How to Choose a Business Name:

Part Four – Know if the Name is Available

Welcome to part 4 of a 4 part series about how to choose a business name.

Here's the schedule:

• 3/12: Know Your Industry
• 3/19: Know Your Customers
• 3/26: Know Your Message/Personality
• Today: Know if the Name is Available

This subject is, obviously, near and dear to me as this is my bread & butter.

A common mistake many new business owners make is assuming that their business name is available simply because:

* the domain name was available
* the fictitious name was available
* the corporate name was available
* internet research showed the name was available
* yellow page research showed the name was available

The above are merely preliminary indications of what business names, service names, and product names are out there. Only comprehensive research will tell you if a name is truly available for use.

Ok, so what is comprehensive research?

Comprehensive research entails searching a variety of files. The first step is a comprehensive search of the pending and registered Federal and State trademark files. Similar names matter too! The search should look for similarities in Sound, Appearance and Meaning, which means looking at synonyms, spelling variations, word placement, translations (if necessary), etc.

The second step is a comprehensive search of US National Common-Law files. This entails searching all incorporation records, all fictitious name/DBA records, Dun & Bradstreet  records, product announcements, newspapers, company directories, etc.

If the research proves clear on both steps, you can then decide if you'd like to file for a State or Federal trademark.

This concludes our 4-part series in choosing a business name. The 4 topics I chose are those that are the ones I think most important. Are there other steps you think should be considered?

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

The Importance of Creative Naming
Trademark Information

choosing a business name * business name * choosing a company name * company name

Intellectual Property News Headlines

Since there are no pending questions in my inbox, let's take a look at IP news:

Trademarks :

• Choose Your Own Adventure® Owners Sue DaimlerChrysler and BBDO for Trademark Infringement
• Clothing company wins trademark case over "I Love NC"
• Publisher claims trademark for name 'Whitefish'

Copyrights :

• 1984 copyright owner mulls legal action
• Novelist Dan Brown wins 'The Da Vinci Code' copyright infringement case in London
• First-Ever Iraqi Copyright Law Drafted

Patents :

• New H-P vs. Acer patent suit could fuel up 'rocket docket'
• Apple files for Magsafe patent
• BlackBerry patent would convert e-mailed appointment references to calendar entries

Remember, Thursdays are YOUR days so if you have a question, comment or email me: Shannon at tmexpress dot com. I'm more than happy to post your web site and/or contact information, so it's also free advertising for you.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

Trademark Information

We just passed the 100 mark for posts!

Many thanks to all of our loyal readers! And remember, if you have a question, comment or email me at shannon at tmexpress dot com -- do so & you get your very own post dedicated to your question. Also, I'm more than happy to post your links and/or contact information.

Happy 100 TradeMark Express Blog!

Business Plans: A Quick Guide

Scenario: You've decided to start a small business. You've researched your industry, your customers and your business' message/personality. There seems to be so many 'first steps' when it comes to starting a business but one that's always way, way up there is creating a business plan.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

• Writing a Convincing Business Plan by Arthur R. DeThomas Ph.D., Lin Grensing-Pophal
• The Definitive Business Plan: The Fast Track to Intelligent Business Planning for Executives and Entrepreneurs (2nd Edition) by Richard Stutely
• The Complete Book of Business Plans: Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan (Small Business Sourcebooks) by Joseph A. Covello
• The One Page Business Plan with CD-ROM by James T., Jr. Horan

There are plenty of free informational resources out there.

* Five Crucial Components of a Business Plan by Cavyl Stewart

* Sample Business Plan Outline by Lance Winslow

* 8 Business Plan Mistakes to Avoid by Jo Ann Joy

* How to Prepare a Business Plan that Guarantees Big Profits by Julia Tang

* Writing a Business Plan and Check List by Thomas Choo

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

A VIS (Very Important Step) for your New Business

Copyright Visual Art Works

Last week, we explored the online works section of the Literary Works registration.

Next up is the Visual Art Works registration, which is actually quite cut and dry.

Here are some examples given by the US Copyright Office:

" ● Advertisements, commercial prints, labels
● Artificial flowers and plants
● Artwork applied to clothing or to other useful articles
…
● Patterns for sewing, knitting, crochet, needlework
● Photographs, photomontages
● Posters
● Record jacket artwork or photography"

Check this site for specifics about crafts and visual art information.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

You Sure It's a Copyright You Need?

copyright visual art works * copyright * copyrights * copyrighting

How to Choose a Business Name:

Part Three – Know Your Message/Personality

Welcome to part 3 of a 4 part series about how to choose a business name.

Here's the schedule:
• 3/12: Know Your Industry
• 3/19: Know Your Customers
• 3/26: Know Your Message/Personality
• 4/2: Know if the Name is Available

While the concept of The Message and The Personality of a business are slightly different, there are enough commonalities to discuss them in one post.

Remember the good old days in school when you'd use a definition to start a paper? Well, the tried and true is that for a good reason.

Message: "a communication containing some information, news, advice, request, or the like, sent by messenger, radio, telephone, or other means"

Personality: something apprehended as reflective of or analogous to a distinctive human personality, as the atmosphere of a place or thing"

So, in creating a business name, you need to know the personality of your business as well as the message you want to send to your customers. Understanding these two facets of your business will aid you in your selection of a name.

How do I know what my message or personality is?

While there are going to be several aspects of your business that could be described as The Message or The Personality, there is likely one type of each that is going to stand out. Let's look at some examples to illustrate this:

• Product: Clothing line - Will the line be sporty? Sophisticated? Funky? The type of clothing you intend to sell will determine the message & personality. If, for instance, your line is a modernization of vintage wear, then a name like High Tech Clothing might not fit The Message just as Dowdy Duds is not likely to fit The Personality.

• Service: Delivery services - What are you delivering? Who are you delivering it to? Regardless of the types of goods that are being delivered, names like Super Slow Shipments is not The Message you want to communicate.

Brainstorm about The Message and The Personality of your business. Write the first adjectives that come to mind when you think about what it is you want to convey to your customers. Having this list will aid you in your selection of a business name.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

The Importance of Creative Naming
Trademark Information

choosing a business name * business name * choosing a company name * company name

How to Know When to Trademark Your Logo

I got a really great question from a reader in response to my first call for questions:

"I have a product that I want to market and have a name. I do not yet have a mark for this product but want to protect the name. Do I file intent to use and can I do that without having the actual mark?"

There's two distinct questions here – (1) the use of Intent-to-Use & (2) adding a logo after the fact.

(1) Intent-to-Use Trademark Applications: I will definitely dedicate a more detailed post to these two types of applications but to sum it up…

A mark, be it a name, logo or slogan, must be in use in at least 2 states OR between the US & any foreign country in order to obtain Federal trademark registration. However, an applicant can file the mark even if they're only doing business in one state OR not in business at all.

There is a hiccup in filing an Intent-to-Use application in that the USPTO is going to need to know that the mark is being sold across state lines or in another country. This requires another form, a $100 and a specimen.

(2) Adding a Logo to Your Trademark Application:

The USPTO is vague & clear about this matter in a way that really only the Federal government could be:

"The examining attorney will determine whether any proposed amendment of the mark is acceptable. A change is not acceptable if it materially alters the character of the mark. The modified mark must contain what is the essence of the original mark, and the new form must create the impression of being essentially the same mark."

Eh, what? Okay, so basically, if you intend to add anything at all to your trademark application AFTER it's been filed, it has to be something very, very slight. For instance, you may be able to delete generic or descriptive words from your filing.

But, of course, the USPTO has a caveat about that too: "For example, the deletion of the generic name of the goods or services would not generally constitute a material alteration, unless it was so integrated into the mark that the deletion would alter the commercial impression."

So, in a long winded way, it's probably not possible to add a logo to a pending application as the addition of the logo will more than likely "materially alter" the mark. But as with most trademark issues, it's recommended that you consult with a trademark company or attorney about your specifics.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

Trademark Application FAQ
What good is a logo anyhow?

Starting a Business: Must Visit Sites

Time is rather elusive today so I'm going to keep this short but sweet. Here is a listing of must visit sites if you're thinking of starting a business, if you're in the throes of starting a business or are going a little mad about starting a business.




• SBA, Small Business Administration
Whether you're interested in planning, starting, managing or even getting out of business, the SBA is the place to check.

• Entrepreneur's ® Starting a Business
Business plans, how-to guides, and success stories – it's all here

• AllBusiness
"The one-stop resource for growing businesses"

• The IRS Checklist for Starting a Business
The basic steps

• PowerHomeBiz
Specific to "starting, managing and growing a home business"

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

A VIS (Very Important Step) for your New Business

starting a business * business startup * small business * home business * business links

Copyright Your Online Work

Last week I provided some general information about copyrights. Now, I'll delve a bit deeper into the areas of copyrightable materials, specifically the more atypical types of works that can be protected by copyright.

First on the list at the US Copyright Office web site is Literary Works.

Okay, so things like poetry, speeches, dissertations, etc. are easy enough to understand. The one type of literary work I get asked about is protecting online work. The US Copyright Office has a handy-dandy 8 page section about Copyright Registration for Online Works. How's about we break that down to some manageable parts.

The above circular describes online works as those that are "made available over a communications network such as the Internet…also applies also to works accessed via network (websites, homepages, and FTP sites) and files and documents transmitted and/or downloaded via network."

It's important to note that "the registration will extend only to the copyrightable content of the work as received in the Copyright Office and identified as the subject of the claim."

While this information is referenced within the Literary Works area of the site, there are other relevant registrations. Here's what the US Copyright Office lists:

• Form TX—literary material, including computer programs and databases
• Form VA—pictorial and graphic works, including cartographic material
• Form PA—audiovisual material, including any sounds, music, or lyrics (*See filing fee information on page 3.)
• Form SR—sound recording, excluding sounds accompanying an audiovisual work
• Form SE—a single issue of a serial
• Form SE/Group—a group of issues of a serial, including daily newsletters
• Form GR/CP—a group of contributions to a periodical. (This form must be used in conjunction with Form TX, PA, or VA.)

If this applies to you or your plans, take the time to read the Circular prior to filing a thing.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

You Sure It's a Copyright You Need?

copyright online works * copyright * copyrights * copyrighting

How to Choose a Business Name:

Part Two – Know Your Customers

Welcome to part 2 of a 4 part series about how to choose a business name.

Here's the schedule:

• 3/12: Know Your Industry
• Today: Know Your Customers
• 3/26: Know Your Message/Personality
• 4/2: Know if the Name is Available

In a perfect world, your customer would be John Q. Public & Susie Everywoman. Well, we know the world's not perfect. Every business, no matter how large or small, has their Customer or Customers.

Now I don't mean lower-case customers – all businesses have customers or clients (and hopefully lots & lots of them).

What I'm talking about is the upper-case Customer, i.e. the people who are at the focus of your marketing and sales campaigns. Once you know who they are, choosing a business name will be that much easier.

Finding Your Customer

A few key questions:

• What are you selling?
o Easy enough, right?

• Who needs this product? Who needs this service?
o Ah, okay, here's one that's a bit harder. Who are the types of folks out there in our commercial world that you know would benefit from your product or service? Small business owners? Single mothers? College students? And so on & so forth. Make a list of any & every type of customer you can think of that you know needs what you have to sell.

• How will your Customer find out about you?
o This will be answered within your marketing plans but should also be considered when choosing a business name. Where do you plan to advertise? Internet? Yellow pages? Fliers? And so on & so forth. Again, make a list of any & every type of advertising route you know you're going to explore.

One note about the above: If you're just starting out, your scope for the last 2 questions may be a bit small (or very large, if you're the ambitious type). Either way, it's best to be honest with yourself. Make two lists if need be – one for the immediate & one for the future. For example, if you're just starting out, you may want to rely simply on word of mouth and some fliers for advertising. But as your business grows, you know you'll add Internet advertising.

What Does My Customer Have to do with My Name?

Well, everything really. Your name is going to be the one and only thing that is going to identify your business in the marketplace. It's how Customers will come to know your business and its personality. The name is how Customers are going to find you when they want to buy from you again (and again and again). When your Customers refer you to their friends, the name's the golden ticket.

That being said, always keep your Customer in mind when choosing a business name. Here are some examples to illustrate this key point:

• Product: do-it-yourself accounting software – the self employed are going to be a major Customer for this type of product. Those that are working for themselves aren't going to have a lot of time to research hundreds of different products. They need to know your product is reliable, easy and cost-efficient. Is there a component to your product that's going to be especially relevant to this type of Customer?

• Service: bed and breakfast - the main Customers are tourists that want those 'extra touches' not available at motels or hotels but can be narrowed even further to honeymooners, retired couples or business travelers. What is the one thing, to you, that stands out about your bed and breakfast? What are those 'extra touches' that set you apart from hotel, motels and other B&Bs?

So you can see by the simple examples above by brainstorming about your Customer(s), a picture starts emerging. This should be a conjoined image of (1) what they want and (2) what you plan to offer to them.

TradeMark Express Blog Schedule

The Importance of Creative Naming
Trademark Information

choosing a business name * business name * choosing a company name * company name