Res ipsa loquitur.
Latin for ‘the name speaks for itself’. That’s the first thought that came to mind when I heard of DNA on a Shirt (DOAS). And although in a simplified way it may seem that selling t-shirts with animal DNA as artwork on it is their sole purpose that is far from the truth. By spreading awareness regarding conserving and protecting animals they are championing the cause of our mute friends who cannot defend themselves.
The founder of DOAS, Darren Grandmaster is a serial entrepreneur and as any great entrepreneur learnt from his mistakes. Early on in his career a potentially successful IP was infringed by a foreign company that ended up earning millions off his idea and he vowed never to make that mistake again. As passionate as he was about launching his company that provided DNA artwork of animals on t-shirts, Darren resisted taking his idea public until he filled a utility patent for his biometric process. He fondly refers to the patent as his ‘$25,000 baby’.
DOAS realized that they were sitting on a hotbed of intellectual property (IP) and making sense of all of it was bound to be both a tedious and expensive pursuit. They were looking for simplicity and an economic alternative. That is exactly why DOAS chose Traklight. Patents are familiar territory for Darren but it was accounting for the tons of other IP his company possessed that was his concerned. ID your IP helped DOAS identify the trademarks, service marks and copyrights they had created for their website as well as campaign. It also helped make sure that ownership of those items appears in the contract as owned by DNA in a shirt so they do not have any disaster later.
One of Darren’s favorite resources was the IP Vault that allowed him to be better organized since he is taxed with a multitude of different things as a business owner. It also helped DOAS to keep the incoming staff up to speed immediately on IP and the monetary importance to the company.
While creating a video for their IndieGogo campaign the importance of owning/licensing all elements published was stressed often enough. This included the music. The horror stories of the RIAA suing moms and teachers for using unauthorized music were far too common. The artistic team at DOAS actually created their own music for the video and it is being copyright.
The DOAS IndieGogo campaign is for funding a trip to Africa so that they can collect DNA samples of the ‘big cats’, the cheetahs. Did you know that we share a strikingly high percentage of our DNA with a number of animals? I didn’t till I saw the DOAS website. 75% of our genetic makeup is similar to that of dogs! There are less than 10,000 cheetahs left in the wild and only 2,500 left in Nambia. DOAS is pursuing a noble endeavor to spread awareness amongst the masses of the importance of these creatures and their conservation. Be a part of the movement at their Indiegogo campaign here.