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What's difference between trademark and copyright?
So the difference between a trademark and a copyright is a copyright is a creative expression fixed out of a tangible medium.
Right.
A trademark is a source identifier for consumers to relate back to where product or service come from.
So I'll break it down for you.
So, like a copyright, you can protect a photograph, a painting, a picture you know, songs are It cannot be in your head, but it has to be fixed into a tangible medium. But yes, Dirk has to come in to interview represent Chicago. But it's okay, yes, right, But and
so here's the thing with a copyright. A lot of entrepreneurs don't understand that whoever the creator of the copyright is, that is, who is the owner of the copyright under the law said, the creator, who birthst the creation is the copyright owner.
Now why is that important?
Because as entrepreneurs, we hire graphic designers, we hire photographer, We hire people to come in and create creative works for our businesses. Right.
Have you ever hired someone to create a logo for you?
Yeah, yeah, right, and by panel you think you own that logo? It sure, it's right, Well I know different but yeah, yeah right most people.
And it sounds like it makes sense.
But unfortunately, because they created the logo, they're actually the copyright owner of the logo unless you have them transfer their rights in writing. Now some people think, well it can be an or no, it has to be in writing, and so usually you will have them transferred through a work for higher agreement. So like a company like Disney, who is creating amazing copyrights and multiple copyrights, the company is not creating, it's actually people there. But all of
those people who are creating it. They're on work for hire agreement.
So okay, So how do you increase the value of a trademark?
I always tell people you have to start with great quality the products and services for your the value of your trademarks to increase and go up. Right, You know, people, I'm a brand buyer, right, I like certain brands, Like it's certain soaps that I use.
I'm only gonna use a certain.
Type of deodorant, right, Like, I'm a brand buyer, and a lot of people are right, Like some people. I don't drink pop anymore. We call it pop from Chicago, right. What do y'all call it here in New York?
Soda? Soda?
Yeah?
Okay, So are you guys like a Coca Cola or a pepsi kind of a.
Man, it's gonna be telling if I had to, would probably.
Be coke it cold.
Oh my god, you're probably gonna get in trouble because you're from New York, right, And they like it's a real battle with pepsi and coke?
What about you?
But if you if you had to, because I don't drink it either, but I have a pick if I have to pick one.
If I had to, I don't know. I would probably say coc Cola because I think that the brand is stronger than PEPSI I just identify it as a stronger like I don't eat I don't eat fast food. If I had to, I probably McDonald's is a stronger brand than Wendy's.
Right, So the fact that he just has that mentally in his mind that these brands are stronger, right, it's because of how they are boldly and notoriously representing the brand in the marketplace. And as business owners, that's what we have to do in order to increase the value.
Right.
You guys did a great job with increasing the value of earning your leisure right, and so now people want to be attached to it, they want to be a part of it. And so it's just like you gotta just like you know, for me, when I picked the biz Lawyer as an Instagram handle, I was just trying to pick a cute name on Instagram. But because my
services is great, my team is great. Now people want to make sure when they do their trademarks they do it with a biz lawyer because they know the type of quality of services is gonna come with it.
And so that increases our revenue and our value.
This is something that we've learned. We found a bunch of trademarks. You talk about the time it takes, right, So obviously we got the first Yeah, we get the attorney. We did the search. Talking about the time it takes. I know you brought up first rights to that's important too. We can we get into that a little bit.
Yeah, for sure.
So first thing, first, you want to do the search, and you know, a lot of times people it's important you do a search not only with the USPTO dot gov, but also to see who is using the trademark in the marketplace or whatever, because common law rights can fall into play as well. But then once we do the search, we actually will issue an opinion letter with the search results.
We'll go through the opinion letter.
You know, one thing that I think is very different about our firm outside of the fact that it's probably.
Been you know, black owned by me the female.
But one thing we do is we counsel and advise our clients based on the search results. Not a lot of people do that. They do the research and they just file the application or they don't.
Right.
We tell our clients and also too, if we see challenges, we create strategy on how we can possibly win the trademark, especially if the client already has invested, you know, thousands of dollars into the brand. But once we do that, we get in on a file. Now here's the thing. The trademark application used to take about three to four months for the government to review it. But now because after COVID, I feel like a lot of people was empowered to become entrepreneurs. But also a lot of people
are more educated, so people have filed trademarks. Actually, during COVID, the most trademarks ever in history was fouled. Okay, yes, and so now it has pushed the government review time back to actually eight to nine months. So now it takes them eight to nine months just to review the application. Once they review the application, they can either approve it or iss your office action. If they approve it, it
goes to what's called publication for opposition. Now, publication for opposition allows anyone in the public thirty days.
To oppose your trademark.
This is why it's important that we file trademarks with integrity and also too we watch our trademarks because if you file a trademark like.
I'm Coco Chanel.
Chanell is gonna come and oppose the trademark and probably send you a c sent desist letter right away when they filet that you filed the trademark. But the good thing about it is is that as a brand owner, you want to watch your trademark because people can be filing things confusingly similar to your brand as well, and a government they try to stop things, but they sometimes
they let things through as well. So once you go through that phase, if no one opposed the trademark, you can have registration within twelve weeks from the thirty day deadline. So that can take about nine to eighteen months right now to get a trademark register. I'm sorry, twelve to eighteen months to get a register.
But let's go back.
If the government takes issue with application, they can issue a office action, bless you. The office action can require either substantive response or non substantive response. If it's a non substantive response, that means something minor is going on and a government wants you to fix it.
And that's no problem.
But if it's a substantive issue, the government is refusing it on a likelihood of confusion. Or failure to function as a trademark, or at the trademark being merely descriptive, and you will have to present legal arguments with the legal brief to argue why the prices should have the trademark.
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