Webinar Recap: Melissa Jaffe on Leveraging Your Assets

We had a great webinar yesterday with Traklight Founder and CEO, Mary Juetten, and guest presenter Melissa Jaffe, owner and principal attorney of the Law Offices of Melissa B. Jaffe, LLC, a boutique law firm for creative individuals and businesses.

Continue reading “Webinar Recap: Melissa Jaffe on Leveraging Your Assets”

Infusionsoft® Partner Radio Show with Bonus Tips for Partners’ IP

infusionsoftCarrie Hertz and Dave Sherman, both of Infusionsoft, invited me to present to help their partners better understand the Infusionsoft® Trademark Brand Guidelines. This excellent set of guidelines concerning trademark usage, created by Carrie, can be found on the Infusionsoft website.

During the radio show, Dave and I discussed the specific rules for using the Infusionsoft logo and name by their partners. Many of these Infusionsoft rules can apply to other businesses. Kudos to Carrie for creating this model which is a best practice to emulate. We were also asked to give some IP tips for partners’ brand and trademarks (TMs) but ran out of time during the show (more on that in a minute).

Continue reading “Infusionsoft® Partner Radio Show with Bonus Tips for Partners’ IP”

Baseball Shuts Down Podcasts Over Trademark Infringement

mike-bowman-xKShyIiTNJk-unsplashOne of the thrills of following baseball in the modern day is the ability to follow your team’s every move, day in and day out, through a variety of media. But for a number of fans, their options have just decreased by one. Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) has requested that iTunes remove a number of baseball-related podcasts from iTunes, a request which was fulfilled with all the speed and vigor of a Yasiel Puig bat flip. MLBAM cited trademark infringement as the reason for the move in the letter it sent to Apple, which has subsequently been published by NBC Sports’ Hardball Talk:

“As we have done in the past, yesterday we notified Apple about certain podcasts on the iTunes Store whose titles and/or thumbnails include infringing uses of trademarks of Major League Baseball and certain Clubs. And, as we have done in the past, we asked Apple to have these trademarks removed from the podcast titles and thumbnails. Although we did not ask for or seek to have any podcast removed from the Store, it has come to our attention that Apple removed them. Given our many years of experience in notifying Apple about trademark issues on the Store, we trust that removing the podcasts was an oversight, and ask that you please look into this matter as soon as possible.

Continue reading “Baseball Shuts Down Podcasts Over Trademark Infringement”

Taking the Scary Out of Startup: Why Startups Succeed, Part 3

daria-nepriakhina-zoCDWPuiRuA-unsplashPreviously in our Taking the Scary Out of Startup series, we discussed “Leader = vision + passion + unending drive.” Today’s topic highlights the need to identify and protect intellectual property (IP) as a must do. But this is not an area where you would think that we at Traklight would have needed help. From day one, we have had advisory board members that are attorneys, and identifying IP to protect it is what we do.

Continue reading “Taking the Scary Out of Startup: Why Startups Succeed, Part 3”

Johnny Manziel Seeks Trademark On “The House That Johnny Built”

There are undoubtedly a myriad of thoughts running through the mind of any young man who achieves his boyhood dream and gets drafted into the National Football League (NFL): Am I going to start right away? What should I buy with my first big paycheck? Do I have to go to Jacksonville, or can I just retire right now? The last question you might expect is: Can I file a trademark?

Continue reading “Johnny Manziel Seeks Trademark On “The House That Johnny Built””

Two Tragedies Bring About Trademark Applications

Not everything can be trademarked. Understanding how they work and what can or cannot be trademarked can be a slippery and dangerous slide down the rabbit hole. After the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013, several companies made an attempt at trademarking the slogan that emerged from the tragedy – “Boston Strong”.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has denied several applications to trademark “Boston Strong” over the last 12 months. One of the most notable applications was from Boston Beer Company, the maker of Samuel Adams beers. Boston Beer Company attempted to trademark “Boston Strong” shortly after the bombing and subsequent manhunt. The company argued they would like to utilize “Boston Strong” as the name of their marathon beer; the proceeds of the beer would go to aid victims of the bombing and their families.

Continue reading “Two Tragedies Bring About Trademark Applications”

Traklight’s First Commercial: Podcast Idea Comes To Life

I woke up on April 4th and realized I had a podcast to do in the next 45 minutes. Through the power of Gmail search I pulled up the requirements—“Be prepared to talk about one problem you are having.” Just one?

I started by asking our CFO what he thought I should talk about and he gave a look that only your husband can give (because he is my husband). “You’re kidding me,” he said as he handed me my morning coffee. “All you talk about is how hard it is to explain Traklight’s value to the attorney market.”

I sat sipping my coffee and realized he was right.

Continue reading “Traklight’s First Commercial: Podcast Idea Comes To Life”

Top 10 Legal Issues For Startups

Jack Donenfeld made a stop at Gateway CEI in Phoenix, Arizona, last month. He delivered an interesting presentation on “Avoiding Legal Mistakes That Could Kill Your Startup.” He created a list of the 22 most significant mistakes he repeatedly sees from startup companies. Here’s my top 10 list from his presentation:

Godzilla Celebrates 60 Years of Brand Protection

Since his beginnings in 1954’s Gojira, Godzilla has become one of film’s longest-lived and most loved monsters (to the extent that monsters can be loved). In the 60 years since his inception, he has managed to withstand attacks from the world’s military might, battles with fellow monsters, and poorly conceived remakes. He has proven resilient enough to find his way back to the big screen this summer to spark the imaginations of yet another generation. But his greatest nemesis over the decades has not been King Ghidorah or Mechagodzilla, but rather copyright and trademark violators.

Continue reading “Godzilla Celebrates 60 Years of Brand Protection”