Sunday, July 2, 2017

Intellectual Property 101: What Your Business Needs To Know About Trademark Law; Forbes, June 26, 2017

Art Neill, Forbes; Intellectual Property 101: What Your Business Needs To Know About Trademark Law

"Co-author Teri Karobonik contributed to this post*

When you think of a “trademark” you may think of a logo (Apple’s apple logo) or a product or service name (Forbes). You may even assume that trademarks are only a concern for internationally famous brands like fashion companies (Prada) and fast food (Pizza Hut).

In reality, trademark protection extends further than logos and can cover everything from sounds (the 20th Century Fox Fanfare before the opening movie credits), to colors (the “green” on a John Deere tractor), to the design of a taco shop.

Although many of the common examples you hear about are large corporate brands, understanding trademark protection is just as important for startups, independent creators, and small business. So what do trademarks do? They protect consumers from confusion regarding the source of products or services. As your business grows, trademarks become a significant asset because they are the way consumers identify and relate with your company.  You also need to know how and when your business can use the trademarks of other companies.

In this second part of this four part series (see Part 1 on Copyright here), we’ll break down one of the 4 main types of intellectual property (Trademark)  and explain..."

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