Intellectual property is a vast topic that could be endlessly discussed. Not to worry though - I’m going to adhere to the famous ‘KISS’ principal (Keep It Simply Silly) and highlight the main principles behind Trade-Mark Law and Copyright Law.

What’s Protected Through Trade-Mark Law?
A Trade-Mark is essentially a word, symbol, and/or design that is used to distinguish the goods and services of one organization from another. It grants its owners the exclusive use of the mark to be identified with their good or service. A ‘TM’ can be used for trademarks not yet registered, and an ‘R’ (in a circle) is used to identify registered trademarks. Some countries, such as the United States, use a ’service mark’ ‘SM’ to distinguish between marks used for services. The ‘SM’ is only used for unregistered services.

Trademarks may be protected through use (however, the mark will only be protected in the specific area where the reputation for the mark has been acquired through use). Otherwise, a trademark can be protected through registration. Registering a Trademark grants the user the exclusive right to use that mark.

A trademark registration is only valid in the country where it was filed, with exception to the European Union, where there now exists a Community Trade Mark (CTM) which covers the mark in all EU countries.

What’s Protected Through Copyright Law?
Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans or symbols. Rather, copyright protects the expression of literary and artistic work. For example, you cannot have a copyright on a band title, but you could own the copyright on the artistic expression of your band’s logo.

When a person creates an original work that is put in a fixed form (i.e. on paper, CD, DVD, flash drive, etc.), they automatically own the copyright. In other words, the person owns the rights to: reproduce the work, perform the work, record the work, broadcast the work, translate the work, adapt the work into a different form (i.e. a novel into a screenplay). These rights are granted for a specific period of time (usually around 50-70 years after the death of the author) until the work is considered to part of the ‘public domain’ (i.e. people no longer require permission to use or reproduce the work). Although copyright is automatic upon its creation in a fixed form - it’s often recommended to register the work for additional proof of ownership should the work be copied.

Works that fall under Copyright Law are generally characterized into one of these categories:
o Literary Work (novels, poems, computer software source code)
o Artistic/Visual Arts (sculpture, drawing, illustration, graphic design, plans, maps, photographs, architectural work)
o Dramatic (films, videos, choreography), Musical (musical composition with or without words)
o Sound Recordings (recordings of music, drama, or lectures)
o Serial & Periodicals (periodicals, newspapers, magazines, bulletins, newsletters, annuals, journals, proceedings of societies)

Disclaimer
The above information is meant as a general guide to further your copyright and trademark knowledge and does not constitute legal advice. For questions about your specific work, you should consult a copyright lawyer in your country.

Justine Shoolman is a Founder of Copyright Creators (CC), a service inspired by the shortfalls of “poor man’s copyright”. CC protects copyright for life with no membership fees. Visit CC today to receive 4 free registrations.

Your brand name, logo or distinctive mark makes your business distinguishable from your competitors and instantly recognised by potential clients/customers. If you do not register your trade mark you become vulnerable to those who would exploit your own success by copying your brand. You need to be in a position to take action if this kind of situation arises. In this article we shall look at how you can protect your brand and how the use of a trade mark attorney can help not only with the trade mark registration, but with the initial searches to ensure that your mark doesn’t already exist and belong to someone else.

Some organisations may feel that there is no justification in registering their brand or trade mark. There may be reluctance due to perceived cost issues, for instance, or it may simply never be a priority. This can, unfortunately, end up costing the business more money later on and can leave your brand unprotected. If another organisation does undertake the registration it could result in them being granted ownership and you would no longer be able to use the brand. Consulting a trade mark attorney to avoid these issues should therefore be a priority.

When you do register a trade mark there are several decisions to be made, not least of which is where to register. Trade mark protection is territorial i.e. by individual country - there is no such thing as a globally registered trade mark. You also, as a business, need to decide what you want the trade mark to cover, whether it is just the name, logo or a combination of both. The next decision you have is to decide which and how many of the 45 classes to apply in, as each represents a grouping of various goods and services. A trade mark attorney is a great source of information regarding the classification of your goods and services into these classes.

Businesses in the UK may apply to register their trade mark through the UK Intellectual Property Office. It is also possible to obtain registered trademark protection across the EU with a single Community Trade Mark application; this is slightly more expensive but offers the obvious extra protection for your trade mark throughout the EU. With the growth of the EU to 27 countries and recent reductions in official fees this option has proved popular.

Your trademark and brand are valuable parts of your business and should be protected accordingly. It is always prudent to seek professional advice from a qualified Trade Mark Attorney. They can advise you of the cost implications and whether it would be beneficial to register nationally, for the EU or even on a wider scale.

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the legal industry.
Find out more about Trade Mark Attorney and how the services available can help with protecting your brand.

[tags]Trade Mark Attorney, Patents, Trade Marks[/tags]

When it comes to trademarking, product manufacturers must protect themselves and their products from imitators, but must also be careful to avoid infringing on others trademarks. It makes sense to take a lot of time over the printing of product packaging and product labelling, since this information could put you on the wrong side of the law.

When virtually any element of a piece of packaging can be registered as a trademark, it can be tough to decide which elements are actually worth trademarking. But trademark you must, and be quick about it. Once a similar product comes onto the market, you may be completely unable to do anything about it, leaving your product open to imitation.

In a visually cluttered market, packaging achieves a sense of shelf presence, colour and shape which other brand associations can be built on. Nescafe coffee jars, Toblerone’s unique triangular packaging or the famous Coca-Cola bottle are all examples of packaging arguably superseding the product in terms of consumer awareness and recognition.

Coca-Cola set a brief in 1916 to design a Coca-Cola bottle which could be recognised by someone even if held in the dark, or even identified from a broken piece of the bottle. This was in response the Coca-Cola product and packaging being imitated. It seems to have worked well, as the bottle is one of the most well-recognised symbols in the world and manufacturers would think twice before infringing this very famous trademark!

Manufacturers should be careful not to tread on thin ice in terms of duplicating other brand’s packaging trademarks, and should seek legal advice before producing a new item of packaging, if it borrows designs from other products.

The law also protects consumers from manufacturers making false claims about their products, be it the origin, the production process, the packaging or distribution. It’s important that consumers can trust your brand, so don’t lie to them!

False claims are criminal, and green marketing can be especially dangerous in this capacity. Vague terms like ‘eco friendly’, ’sustainable’ or depictions of fresh fruit on artificially-flavoured product packaging are all examples of package design which could lead to legal complications.

Manufacturers should also be very careful not to include any information on the packaging which might mislead consumers. Any touted environmental benefits must be explained and associated with specific elements of the product or its production, such as transport, packaging, use, or disposal.

If you are honest with your customers, they will appreciate it and respect you. False claims means lost authority and when customers can’t believe what you say is in the box, your product and brand are doomed.

Sauven Marking is a leading manufacturer and global supplier of bar code printers to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, industrial and electronics industries.

[tags]trademark, trademarks, trademark packaging, packaging trademarks[/tags]

Do you have a successful or soon-to-be successful Internet business?

Congratulations. You have a wonderful website and orders are pouring in hand over fist. Maybe they have been for a long time. You registered your domain. Maybe you didn’t trademark your domain name, but that’s okay, isn’t it? Who has the time to bother with that when you have a business to run?

After all, you’re living the internet lifestyle that so many people only dream about.

Then one day, from out of the blue, you get a certified letter. You anxiously open it up and see that it’s from an attorney.

The lawyer is notifying you that your domain name infringes on his client’s federally registered trademark. It further stipulates that you must immediately cease and desist from using your domain name along with any and all references to “their” trademark.

The letter continues. He and his client demand that you transfer your offending domain name to his client. To add insult to injury, he says you must pay his client damages that are equal to all the profits you have already made from your online business under this domain name.

Your Internet dream has just turned into a nightmare. Unfortunately this nightmare scenario happens every day.

The attorney’s cease and desist letter is essentially an invoice for from twenty five- to fifty thousand dollars or more. You will have to pay that amount if you want to defend yourself and your business against the trademark infringement lawsuit that is probably just around the corner.

The letter is not a joke. It is not someone fishing for a little bit of extra cash. It is from someone who has registered a similar domain as a trademark. A person that will take the appropriate action to prevent you from infringing on what has now become their legal rights.

In other words, if you do not concede to the trademark owner’s demands, if you do not cease and desist from running your business, you can expect that a follow-up infringement lawsuit will be filed against you.

And to think, you could have stopped this problem before it began by simply trademarking your domain name as soon as your business started showing signs of success. A relatively modest investment could have precluded all of this.

If you do not protect your domain name from theft today it is possible that you can lose your website and all of your profit tomorrow.

What is a Domain Registered as a Trademark?

A registered trademark gives you the rights to use your brand in both the brick and mortar world as well as over the Internet.

A domain name is an Internet IP address that identifies a website.

When you trademark your domain name, if a conflict over your domain ever arises, you’ll be in a very strong position to be able to defend your brand. Just registering your domain does not give you the same protection as registering your domain as a trademark.

A trademark sets you apart from your competitors and secures your identity and protects your intellectual property.

If you don’t trademark your domain name it is easy for both “cybersquatters” and your competitors to use a name similar to yours (whether they do it intentionally or innocently) and benefit from all your hard work. When you register your domain as a registered trademark you protect that name and prevent other parties from registering similar domain names.

In their report to the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the FBI estimated that more than $433 billion was lost due to intellectual property theft.

Trademark your domain name and you will protect your property.

After trademarking your domain name, if a competitor tries to use it, you will then have the right to send a cease and desist notice to them and challenge them further if they continue. It legally protects your property both in your immediate area as well as throughout the United States.

How Can You Trademark Your Domain Name?

If you’d like, you can apply for the registration of a trademark on your own. However, you will have to make sure that it complies with all of the rules and regulations regarding trademarks. It’s a rather complicated, time consuming process.

For example, every trademark application has to specify the class of goods or services for that registration. There are 8 classes of services and 34 classes of goods. If you initiate your filing in the wrong class you will waste a lot of your time, energy and money.

Approximately 35% of the people who begin the trademark registration process do not finish it because of various objections that arise during the process.

There are a number of attorneys and companies that can help you to trademark your domain name. Some are better than others.

Do a search on the Internet. You’ll find a number of companies such that are well-established and specialize in registering domains as trademarks. And at least one or two have put together an affordable, quick and easy process for you to trademark your domain name.

Whomever you decide to use, shouldn’t you get started today?

To get the protection you need and to find out more about how you can trademark your domain name go to http://www.trademarks411.com/domain-name.html

Wendy Moyer is a professional writer.

[tags]trademark your domain name[/tags]

Do you have a successful or soon-to-be successful Internet business?

Congratulations. You have a wonderful website and orders are pouring in hand over fist. Maybe they have been for a long time. You registered your domain. Maybe you didn’t trademark your domain name, but that’s okay, isn’t it? Who has the time to bother with that when you have a business to run?

After all, you’re living the internet lifestyle that so many people only dream about.

Then one day, from out of the blue, you get a certified letter from an attorney. He notifies you that your domain name infringes on his client’s federally registered trademark. It further stipulates that you must immediately cease and desist from using your domain name along with any and all references to “their” trademark.

The letter continues by demanding that you transfer your offending domain name to his client and pay his client damages that are equal to all the profits you made with your online business.

Your Internet dream has just turned into a nightmare. Unfortunately this nightmare scenario happens every day.

The attorney’s cease and desist letter is essentially an invoice for $25,000 to $50,000 - or more - that you will pay if you want to defend against the trademark infringement lawsuit that will probably follow.

The letter is not a joke. It is not someone fishing for a little bit of extra cash. It is from someone who has registered a similar domain as a trademark. A person that will take the appropriate action to prevent you from infringing on what has become their legal rights.

In other words, if you do not concede to the trademark owner’s demands, if you do not cease and desist from running your business, you can expect that a follow-up infringement lawsuit will be filed against you.

And to think, you could have stopped this problem before it began by simply trademarking your domain name as soon as your business started showing signs of success.

If you do not protect your domain name from theft today it is possible that you can lose your website and all of your profit tomorrow.

What is a Domain Registered as a Trademark?

A registered trademark gives you the rights to use your brand in both the brick and mortar world as well as over the Internet.

A domain name is an Internet IP address that identifies a website.

When you trademark your domain name, if a conflict over your domain ever arises, you’ll be in a very strong position to defend your brand. Just registering your domain does not give you the same protection as registering your domain as a trademark.

A trademark sets you apart from your competitors and secures your identity and intellectual property.

If you don’t trademark your domain name it is easy for both “cybersquatters” and your competitors to use a name similar to yours (whether intentionally or innocently) and benefit from all your hard work. When you register your domain as a registered trademark you both protect that name and prevent other parties from registering similar domain names.

The their report to the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the FBI estimated that more than $433 billion was lost due to intellectual property theft.
Trademark your domain name and you will protect your property.

If a competitor tries to use it now you will then have the right to send a cease and desist notice to them and challenge them further if they continue. It legally protects your property both in your immediate area as well as throughout the United States.

How Can You Trademark Your Domain Name?

You can apply for the registration of a trademark on your own. However, you will have to make sure that it complies with all of the rules and regulations regarding trademarks. It’s a rather complicated, time consuming process.

For example, every trademark application has to specify the class of goods or services for that registration. There are 8 classes of services and 34 classes of goods. If you initiate your filing in the wrong class you will waste a lot of your time, energy and money.

Approximately 35% of the people who begin the trademark registration process do not finish it because of objections that arise during the process.

There are a number of attorneys and companies that can help you to trademark your domain name. Some are better than others.

Do a search on the Internet. One of the companies that you will find is Trademarks411. They’re a well established company that specializes in registering domains as trademarks. And they have put together an affordable, quick and easy process for you to trademark your domain name.

Whomever you decide to use, shouldn’t you get started today?

To get the protection you need and to find out more about how you can trademark your domain name go to http://www.trademarks411.com/domain-name.html

Wendy Moyer is a professional writer.

[tags]trademark your domain name[/tags]

Unfortunately, Thailand is often seen as a haven for counterfeiters, with fake Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Sass & Bide abounding in certain shopping malls.

There have been several new anti-counterfeiting measures and border control campaigns initiated by the government, yet the problem persists relatively unchanged. New cases that have been brought against eBay in both the US and France recently could change this, with French courts assigning responsibility to an unexpected party. eBay is considered a ‘landlord’ of sorts for sellers, and has now been held legally responsible for the sale of counterfeit goods in France. What is happening currently with regard to Thailand laws on counterfeits, what new developments have occurred in the US and France, and what does it all mean for Thai consumers?

Thailand law actually has one of the most aggressive schemes to combat counterfeiting of any country in South East Asia, so Thailand law firms like BSA Law and Tilleke and Gibbins find it remarkable that the problem persists. The strategy for attacking the prevalence of counterfeit goods has included a public education program, showing Thais that counterfeiting is preventing their companies from moving onto the world stage, getting Thai nationals off the fields and helping them advance economically. Thailand law now recognizes that counterfeiting is not a minor crime, but part of organized crime’s diverse portfolio, alongside people-smuggling and trade in weapons and drugs.

However, the law of economics is fighting the efforts of Thailand law firms and the government itself against counterfeiting. Economic downturn makes demand for cheaper goods, and indiscriminate tourists create a further market. Thai workers have renowned skills in sewing and handicrafts, which can be applied to creating copies as easily as originals.

Recent cases involving the sale of counterfeit goods on eBay in the US and France might mean that counterfeiting is more strongly opposed by an unexpected party - the landlords who collect rent from shop owners selling the counterfeits. French law now has a precedent that eBay is responsible for the sale of counterfeit goods on its site, and French eBay has had to pay damages to major labels. Thailand business law could follow, with the landlords of malls, the equivalent of eBay in the French case.

Both French and US courts rejected the notion put forth by eBay, that they do not have any responsibility over what is being sold on their ‘premises’, whether that is virtual or real. In the US, the courts found that eBay was already taking sufficient measures to stop counterfeiting, while in France, the same measures were deemed to be insufficient. Thailand law firms and corporate legal services in Thailand like BSA Law and Baker and McKenzie could soon be seeing many clients taken to court for selling counterfeit goods who had no knowledge of this (landlords) - unless they start keeping a tighter rein on their tenants. BSA Law and other Thai law firms expect that if counterfeiting continues to have its insidious effect on the Thai economy, especially in these difficult times, the government will follow the example set in the West.

BSA Law has focused on providing reliable thai Law consulting and services to the business community in Thailand for nearly 30 years. We provide international standards of legal services while retaining the customs of the Thai business culture.Click to find out more about Law firm in Thailand.

[tags]Thai law,Law firm in Thailand,Thai Law consulting,Thai Law firm,Thailand lawyer[/tags]

Being a business litigation lawyer in Los Angeles for sometime I often find that people are confused about just what is a trademark. Under the modern definition of the term trademark a trademark is a designation used to identify and distinguish the goods of a person. Thus the role that the designation must play to become a trademark is to identify the source of one sellers goods and distinguish that source from other sources.

That seems simple enough but where does the analysis end. The test for trademark infringement is whether a junior user can use of a mark or symbol is likely to cause confusion as to the source, sponsorship, origin, or affiliation of a senior user. In other words, if an average consumer sees a symbol, brand or logo of one company will he or she think those goods are goods of another more famous or well known company.

The test to determine trademark infringement is not always so simple. There is a trilogy of sight, sound and meaning. One court held that the trademark Cyclone infringed upon the earlier trademark Tornado because both marks conveyed the same or similar meaning. Slight variations between marks may sound alike when pronounced which can cause confusion between the two different companies. This is especially true if the goods are somewhat related or sell to the same core market of consumers.

I recently received a call from a company wanting to brand a line of clothing that was concerned whether the font type they wanted to use for their brand name along with the colors of their goods infringed upon a well known and established brand.

The issue is whether a seller can legitimately obtain exclusive rights under the law of trademarks in a single color of its products. There have been cases where the courts held that a single color can become a registered trademark but there was some caution and possible defenses in a trademark infringement litigation case that may follow.

The traditional rule was that a single color of a product was not capable of protection as a trademark. The traditional rule was supported by the rationale of color depletion and shade confusion. The thinking was that there are only a few easy discernable colors and once all are taken by an industry, the new entrant will be deprived of an element of competition.

It currently appears that in order to obtain the exclusive rights to a color it cannot be divorced from a product. In other words you cannot get the exclusive rights in a color per se. For example, a company might be able to establish trademark rights in the greenish-gold color of a cleaning press pad cover, but a company that makes and sells a product could not legitimately claim exclusive rights to use a particular color in any fashion whatsoever in advertising the product or packaging the product.

There have been cases where companies have obtained federal registration on colors. Our high court said: If color is made the essential feature, it should be so defined, or connected with some symbol or design, that other manufacturers may know what they may safely do.

Some products are well known just by their color. The color pink for fiberglass insulation made by Owens-Corning was allowed to be registered as a federal trademark upon proof of secondary meaning. Secondary meaning is when a character, symbol, logo or mark becomes famous to the point where consumers make a mental association with that symbol to a particular product.

Usually secondary meaning is established through extensive advertising. Owens-Corning embarked on an aggressive Pink Panther advertising campaign. The court held the color pink had no utilitarian purpose and did not deprive competitors of any reasonable right or competitive need. Whether a color will pass the test for trademark registration is whether the particular color is distinctive to that particular product.

Other courts have limited the finding in the Owens-Corning case and have followed the traditional rule. One example was when the court in the Ninth Circuit found that granting exclusive rights to the color yellow for a standard container stipulated to be of a utilitarian shape would be tantamount to giving a trademark on a color per se, which violates the color depletion rule.

It appears the difference in the Owens-Corning case was that there was no competitive need in the insulation industry for the color pink to remain free for competitors to use and there were extraordinary and intense advertising campaigns featuring the Pink Panther cartoon character which established secondary meaning.

What is illustrated here is that there are no simple answers. The best advise when you are selecting a trademark is too find a mark that is very distinctive and then take efforts to create your own brand recognition.

Robert G. Klein, Esq. is a Los Angeles business litigation attorney whose emphasis is in trademark infringement litigation, unfair competition lawsuits, trade secret litigation, and business disputes. Visit his web site http://www.kleinligitation.com

When trying to identify what your most valuable business asset, most people might fail to recognize the value of their goodwill. Goodwill is what makes people return to your company for repeat sales. The greatest symbol of your goodwill is your trademark. Which brings us to define what exactly a trademark is and why is it so valuable.

A trademark is a symbol, word or a combination of the two that identifies your goods or services and distinguishes them from others. A trademark also signifies that all goods bearing the mark as coming from or controlled by a single source, that all goods bearing that trademark are of an equal level of quality, and it is a prime instrument in advertising and selling the goods.

A perfect example of a symbol that is an effective trademark are the golden arches of MacDonalds. When we see those golden arches we immediately make the mental association to MacDonalds hamburgers. This mental association is called secondary meaning. In order to obtain secondary meaning some companies spend millions of dollars over long periods of time attempting to create this brand name recognition.

Because a trademark is a symbol of your goodwill, trademarks are extremely valuable intangible assets worth protecting. In order to successfully protect your trademark it is advisable that you start by selecting a strong mark. A strong trademark is one that is inherently distinctive. Marks that are arbitrary or fanciful are by their nature are inherently distinctive. A fanciful mark is a word or symbol that is coined for the express purpose of functioning as a trademark. An example of a fanciful mark is Clorox for bleach.

Arbitrary marks standing alone would not provide any clue of the type of goods or services associated with that mark. Arbitrary marks comprise of words, symbols, or pictures that are in common linguistic use, but which when used with the goods or services in issue, neither suggest or describe any ingredient, quality or characteristic of those goods or services. An example of an arbitrary mark is V-8 on juice made from different kinds of vegetables.

By contrast, marks that are descriptive of the types of goods or services one offers are by definition weak trademarks. For example, a mark Le Croissant Shop for restaurant services which comprises the generic name of food that is the specialty was held by the courts as being a descriptive or weak trademark.

Trademark infringement occurs when one uses a mark of a senior user in a way that is likely to confuse confusion among consumers as to the source, affiliation or sponsorship of the goods. In the example of V-8 vegetable juice, if a newcomer into the juice business uses the name B-8 associated with its vegetable juice and a consumer familiar with V-8 mistakenly bought B-8 at a convenient store, the V-8 company lost a sale and the company using B-8 made a sale by trading off the goodwill of the first user who spent time and money creating that brand. For this reason trademark infringement is considered unfair competition.

Victims of trademark infringement and unfair competition need to take action to protect their trademark rights. Failure to enforce your trademark rights can result in a loss of your trademark and damage to the goodwill of your business.

Robert G. Klein, Esq. is a Los Angeles business litigation attorney whose emphasis is in trademark infringement litigation, unfair competition lawsuits, trade secret litigation, and business disputes. Visit our web site http://www.kleinligitation.com