Monkeys and humans are similar in more ways than one: we have opposable thumbs, share a majority of DNA, and evidently, love taking selfies. Back in 2011, British photographer David Slater travelled to Indonesia to take photographs of black crested macaques. In a not-so-surprising turn of events, the macaques completely disregarded Slater’s setup and started playing with one of his cameras that produced the photo under controversy: a selfie of a grinning macaque that garnered much internet craze and went viral. The photo found its way onto Wikimedia commons where it is free to download and use and, despite Slater’s removal notices, has been kept in the public domain. Wikimedia has stated that Slater does not own the rights of the photograph as he did not take the photo but the macaque did. On the website where the photo is available for download the license states that,

“…this file is in the public domain, because as the work of a non-human animal, it has no human author in whom copyright is vested.”

This raises an interesting question regarding copyright ownership. So who legally owns the photo in question?

Continue reading “Who Owns the Copyright On An Animal Selfie?”

Last week’s Traklight on Forbes series offered “5 Ways To Be The Savvy Entrepreneur Investors Look For.” Check back every Thursday for more content. Thanks for reading!

Continue reading “Forbes Update: JOBS Act and Crowdfunding: Will They Finally #ReleaseTheRules?”

If you’re just now opening doors in your new business or company, you might be asking an important question: “Do I have intellectual property (IP) that needs protecting?” Those who aren’t asking that question are facing considerable risk; your IP helps you and the economy when you can protect the items you either create or use to help produce commerce for your company. You’re also assuring your financial future by seeking out IP you can protect on a national and international level so no one else can profit from them.

But what should you look out for first when seeking out intellectual property around your company on a freely available day?Continue reading “Do I Have Intellectual Property? What’s Missing & Should Be Protected”

Previously on our Taking the Scary Out of Startup series, we discussed why competition is a good thing.

---

Funding is Hard

Bootstrap, self-funding, debt, strategic partners, or angel capital–it’s all challenging. It’s a topic that is very near and dear to my heart as we had some very fun times last year with some angel group presentations. More on that later. 🙂

I have spoken on a few panels about funding, most recently at SXSW V2V and wrote about the experience for SUCCESS magazine. What follows are my five tips for fundraising.

Continue reading “Taking the Scary Out of Startup: Why Startups Succeed, Part 17”

In the world of sports, it’s not terribly uncommon for teams to have the same nickname. A quick search of college and professional team names turns up 28 Lions, 39 Tigers, and 26 Bears, to say nothing of derivations thereof, like Bengals or Grizzlies. Teams that don’t adhere to those conventions can end up with names ranging from the unique and inscrutable (I’m still not sure what the Toledo Mud Hens, my hometown minor league baseball team, is named after) to the controversial (notably Washington’s professional football team). For most professional teams, there’s enough differentiation between themselves and their counterparts in both other sports and the amateur ranks to peacefully co-exist. But now one professional team is going after a college sports program that shares its name for perhaps sharing a too-similar logo.

Continue reading “Trademarks and Blue Jays v. Bluejays.”

Previously in our Intellectual Property (IP) Best Practices series, we introduced step nine to maximizing your IP: don’t infringe. Check back next Monday for a bonus tip, the last of this series. Don’t miss it!

---

Finally, what all this blog series has been leading up to: Be prepared. Using a good strategy to protect intellectual property enables a company to leverage the maximum value of created IP to boost a business’s valuation. But before investing or conducting business, a third party will always want to conduct its own due diligence to: (1) ascertain whether you actually have ownership of the IP you purport to own, and (2) determine what risks using your IP may entail.

Continue reading “IP Best Practices: Being Prepared and Organized Is Important, Step 10”

Every small business should have a basic understanding of the laws that apply to protecting intellectual property. It is the only way a company will be able to protect their unique creations and ideas from competitors. There are four major ways a small business can obtain legal protection for intellectual property (IP).Continue reading “4 Ways To Obtain Legal Protection For Intellectual Property”

The world of comic books is a fanciful place, featuring heroes and villains that can seem wholly unrealistic but nevertheless fun. Indeed, if recent box office returns are any indication, our appetite for movies based on those characters have never been higher. Our summers for years to come would appear to be stocked with films that will take us to realms of men of iron, women of wonder, and delightful dancing trees. But one software company tried to claim there’s a bit too much reality in one of our most iconic hero’s films, to no avail.Continue reading “Trademark Infringement on the Big Screen?”

Last week’s Traklight on Forbes series highlighted the Jobs Act and Crowdfunding: Will They Finally ‘#ReleaseTheRules’? Check back every Thursday for more content. Thanks for reading!

---

After recently moderating a panel with five CEOs, Mary asked each of them what lesson they learned in the pursuit of their own business innovations, and what advice they might pass along to up-and-coming startups and entrepreneurs. They discuss everything from questioning the status quo, to appealing to investors, to mitigating risk, to alternative funding. 

Be sure to check out today’s Forbes article for some great quotes from some very successful CEOs. As Justin Gray, one of the featured CEO’s says, “Trust someone who’s been there!”

When a company in the startup phase is contemplating protecting intellectual property (IP), there are several important steps to be taken. The first item on the list is realizing this is not a one-step process. Intellectual property is an idea, a theory, a plan of action, and a lot of other things. However, all of these could be the foundation for a new business. That is why it is so important to identify and safeguard your IP as soon as possible. It may behoove you to start your search for an attorney–finding the right one for you is going to take time. Traklight can get you started in the right direction; have you considered your IP strategy?

Continue reading “Protecting Intellectual Property as a Startup”