Many people look to start their own business, but starting a business raises many questions, including those regarding trademarks. For anyone looking to establish a trademark it is important to take the proper steps to ensure the trademark will be valid and protected. A trademark attorney can help you take the necessary steps to ensure you choose the right trademark and that your trademark is registered so that it is protected.

What is a Trademark?

A trademark is a name, tagline, design, logo, or symbol associated with a particular business, product, or service. Trademarks are important to help distinguish and protect a business and its brand. Trademarks help consumers distinguish one product or service from another.

Deciding What to Trademark

Your trademark may be the name of your company or it may be the name of the product or service your company offers. Your trademark may just be words (known as a “word mark”) or may include a stylized design like a logo, symbol, or insignia. Your trademark should convey your message to your clients and customers. You can choose your trademark to convey the message you choose for your business. However, it is very important to also choose a trademark that can be protected and that is not likely to infringe others trademark.

Checking a Trademark

When deciding on a business name it is important to choose something that stands out and that people can remember, but it is also important to choose something that is unique and unlike other competing businesses, products, or services. This is particularly important when you view your business name as your trademark. You don’t want your trademark to be similar to any other competing trademark. If one trademark is too similar to another trademark, the first trademark may be infringing upon the second. To avoid infringement, check to make sure there are no other businesses, products, or services that might be confused with your possible trademark. Checking a trademark is an important step to ensure there is no likelihood of confusion between any two trademarks.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) maintains a database where you can search for registered trademarks and pending trademarks. However, searching the USPTO database takes special skill and an in-depth understanding of the specifics of trademark law. It is best to hire a trademark attorney to conduct a trademark search.

Registering a Trademark

Choosing to register a trademark is a daunting task to handle alone, which is why it is important to hire an attorney who specializes in trademarks. An attorney can conduct an in-depth search to ensure the trademark is not likely to be confused with another existing trademark. An attorney can prepare and file the necessary documents to properly register a trademark. An attorney can also offer advice on the best strategy to protect a trademark.

Starting a new business and registering a trademark can be complicated, so using the service of a professional trademark attorney is the best advice.  For more information about how to protect your trademark, or for information on how to prepare your trademark application, contact us at Creative Law Network today.

Here at Creative Law Network, we know that your trademark is one of your business’ most valuable assets.  It is your brand, the face of your business and the icon with which your clients will connect.  While it may seem small and is often overlooked, it is important to ensure that your trademarks are protected properly.

What is a business trademark?

A trademark is a recognizable word or words, image, design, symbol, or expression which identifies a product or service as belonging to a specific business or organization, distinct from the other products and services offered by other businesses and organizations.  Your trademark may be your name, logo, or tagline.  Trademarks can consist of words, symbols, patterns, designs, slogans, catch phrases or expressions, icons, and even sounds—like jingles.  Trademarks are intellectual property and can be owned by an individual or a business.  Trademarks can be located on a package, a label, a flyer, or a business card, and can be displayed anywhere you might see a business or brand name.

What are trademarks used for?

In general, trademarks are used for identification, allowing clients and customers to associate particular products or services with the business that manufactures or offers them; however, trademarks also serve a much more significant legal function.  By using a trademark to mark any product or service, a business is claiming exclusive rights to use that trademark — which means that if another business or individual attempts to use or copy that particular trademark, it may be an infringement of that trademark.  The most effective way to claim rights to a trademark is to register that trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark registration can be a complex process. Although engaging a lawyer to register a trademark is not required, it is strongly recommended.

How can you tell is something is trademark protected?

Trademarks are designated by distinct symbols that indicate of the level of protection a trademark enjoys. These symbols include:

• The ‘trademark symbol,’ ™ indicates an unregistered trademark. This indicates a trademark enjoys “common law” rights;
• An unregistered ‘service mark,’ ℠ is used to identify a service; and
• The trademark ® indicates that it has been granted registration by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

Where did trademarks come from?

One of the first uses of trademark symbols dates back to the Roman Empire, where blacksmiths would often mark the swords they made with a symbol identifying the sword’s maker.  In 1266, King Henry III passed the first trademark legislation under the Parliament of England requiring all bakers to use distinctive trademarks on the bread they sold.

Why are trademarks so important?

Your business’ trademark is one of its most important assets.  It ensures that your potential clients and customers know your name, your company, your products, your services, and your brand.  It is the recognizable icon of your business, and it promotes and advertises your business as effectively as that persistent jingle that always gets stuck in your head.  However, simply having a recognizable name or symbol for your business is not enough.  Your trademark needs to be registered to ensure that both it and your business remain protected from instances of infringement, piracy, and misrepresentation.  For more information about how to protect your trademark, or for information on how to prepare your trademark application, contact us at Creative Law Network today.

Photo Credit

The Internet has become one of our main sources of distribution and recognition.  Files and creative works have largely changed from paper format to electronic format.  Leisure online time has similarly transformed.  In just four short years, the Internet had 50 million users.  It took radio 38 years to reach this same number.  Most people use the Internet as their source for music, movies, videos, and general information.  “Sharing”, “Liking” and “Tweeting” photographs and videos are a common part of using the World Wide Web.  Many people do not realize that this simple action may be illegal.  Our copyright attorney in Denver can inform you of your rights to your creative works and advise you on the best ways to protect them.

As an artist, musician, photographer or journalist, you want to maintain and protect the rights to your work.  Unfortunately, the Internet makes it very easy for others to violate your copyrights.  For example, while photographs are easy to watermark with today’s computer programs it is just as easy for somebody else to remove that identifying feature.  A single image can be passed around the world within minutes.  In that same amount of time you will lose control and credit for your work.  Avoiding digital circulation is difficult but having protection from copyright infringement is not.  Our experienced copyright attorney in Denver has worked with many clients helping them protect their work from those who may illegally distribute it.

If you do not want to pay to protect your work or believe that your work is not valuable enough to protect, you should reconsider.  That one photograph may be taken by someone else and used on an expensive website or to market someone else’s company. The money that you deserve will wrongfully go  to the person who stole and claimed your work as their own.  Yes, copyrighting does cost money, but not a lot compared what you can lose by not protecting your work.  Contacting a copyright attorney in Denver may save you years of regret and make you lots of money.

Let’s look at the facts. Flickr averages 3000 image uploads per minute.  Facebook shares 70 billion pieces of content each month. YouTube averages 92 million page views each month.  These are staggering numbers.  Consider how much of that material was copyrighted and how much of it was downloaded, shared or saved without consent from the owner.   How many of these photographs, songs and writings were uploaded without proper rights?  It is also worth noting that there are individual website rules governing what happens to your content after it is uploaded to a site.  You must be aware of these rules in order to protect – and profit from – your work.

Creative Law Network is experienced and knowledgeable about copyright law and how to protect you from copyright infringement.  We have years of experience dealing with the U.S. Copyright Office.  Our goal is to help you protect your copyrights and your work.  Contact us for a free consultation about how we can help.

At Creative Law Network, we know how challenging it can be to create and develop intellectual property. This is why it is important to protect your intellectual property, both while it is being developed and when it is finished. For this reason, Creative Law Network focuses on leveraging the intellectual property laws in Colorado to protect our clients’ intellectual property so they can own, sell, and license their intellectual property without worry.

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind—that is, property that cannot be physically touched but which can be sold, owned, and licensed. This legal concept applies to works that result from creative processes including inventions, designs, and works of a musical, artistic, literary or scientific nature. These works are those to which an individual has rights and for which that individual may apply for patent, copyright, or trademark protection. If handled properly, the owners of intellectual property may be granted exclusive rights to their intellectual assets. At Creative Law Network, we are devoted to utilizing the intellectual property laws in Colorado to recognize and protect your valuable intellectual property.

When were Intellectual Property Laws established?

The concept of the intellectual property, which forms the basis of our intellectual property laws in Colorado, predates modern times. The term “intellectual property” dates back to at least 1867 when the constitution of the North German Confederation initially granted legislative power to the protection of intellectual property. Furthermore, the concept of intellectual property greatly predates the modern terminology. For instance, copyright protection is included in the Constitution of the United States and the history of the patent dates back to the Royal Grants of Queen Elizabeth the First in 1558.

What are Intellectual Property Laws?

Intellectual property laws, including our intellectual property laws in Colorado, fall into multiple separate and distinct categories including patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Patents grant the rights to make, use, sell, and import an invention for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of that invention. In contrast, copyrights give a creator the exclusive rights creative works such as literary, musical and dramatic works. Copyright protection is granted for a limited lime and does not protect ideas but rather the form or manner in which they are expressed. Lastly, trademark describes a recognizable name, design, or expression that identifies the source of a particular product or service. Each form of intellectual property law covers significantly different components and specifications of the Intellectual property it is designed to protect. While these distinctions can be complicated, at Creative Law Network we ensure the intellectual property laws in Colorado provide our clients with the appropriate legal coverage for their needs.

At Creative Law Network, we work hard to protect our clients’ intellectual property rights and, through our expertise in the intellectual property laws of Colorado, we can even help our clients to leverage those rights in order to attain the greatest possible benefit to their creative pursuits. We work hard to ensure intellectual property receives the specialized protection it deserves.

What is an entertainment attorney?

An entertainment attorney is an attorney that serves the entertainment community. At Creative Law Network, we are entertainment attorneys that also specialize in law for the creative arts.  Entertainment attorneys represent actors, musicians, bands, production companies, dancers and artists.  We also represent chefs, managers, agents, publishers, distributors, clothing houses, product placement companies – any person or company that has a stake in the entertainment or creative industries.  Our entertainment attorney in Denver covers all of these professions, including non-profit organizations.  We function as the legal department for creative people and organizations throughout Denver.

Can’t I represent myself?

Of course you can… in the same way you can build your own house, launch your own five-star restaurant or design your own car.  All joking aside, yes you can act as your own entertainment attorney in Denver, but why would you want to?  As a creative, your focus is on your creative pursuits.  We are trained to prepare and negotiate contracts, protect your interests and advise you on legal matters as they pertain to your craft.  You could spend hours poring over long and complicated contracts, get tied up in tricky negotiations, or feel helpless if a studio or employer violates your rights.  Or you can rely on us, the Denver entertainment attorney specialists that have the skills and experience to fully manage the legal aspects of your career and business.  We are happy to work behind the scenes to help you succeed.

Where can I learn more?

A great place to learn more about entertainment lawyers and what they do is through HowStuffWorks.com.  Their article, How Entertainment Lawyers Work, goes into detail about the many different (and dare we say, fascinating!) aspects of what it takes for us to be entertainment attorneys in Denver.  The article mentions the Viacom/Google lawsuit, the Nas album fiasco, and the infamous writer’s strike, but also points out the more routine aspects of entertainment lawyer work, such as research, working with unions, and keeping the public interest in mind as well as our clients’ interests.

Why should I call Creative Law Network?

As our name implies, we are a different type of law firm.  We represent creative people and creative businesses.  Those in entertainment and/or creative fields face unique challenges; we know this because we have experience in these fields.  When you are looking for the best entertainment attorneys in Denver, you can have confidence in us.  We are here to help you because we passionately believe in what you do.  We want to represent you because we want you to focus your business so we can help you succeed.  From heavy metal bands to quaint cafés, from fashion houses to watercolor artists – Creative Law Network is the law firm that can represent them all.

Sounds great! How do I get in touch?

As the entertainment attorneys of choice in Denver, we are happy to offer you a free consultation.  Call us at 720-924-6529 or use the handy contact form on our website.  We look forward to helping you with everything from intellectual property law to licensing and everything in between.

Have you ever had a great idea?  Perhaps you dreamed up a great new brand or you came up with the plot for the next world-famous novel.  These ideas are called intellectual property.  It may seem strange to consider an intangible idea as “property”, but there is a good reason for that – property can be stolen, and so can your ideas. Creative Law Network knows a good idea when we see one. Intellectual property law in Colorado is one of our passions.  If you have ideas, we can help you protect them and help you turn your dreams into reality.

Who can have intellectual property?

Anyone and everyone can have intellectual property.  Anyone with an idea that can turn into a profitable venture has intellectual property.  Intellectual property law in Colorado is designed to protect those ideas, whether you are a seasoned professional, a school-aged genius, a restaurateur, a playwright, a lawyer, a dentist – intellectual property law protects everyone.

But why do I need to protect my intellectual property?

Why do you need to protect your physical property?  The loss of anything valuable to you is painful and your great ideas are no different.  Where would J.K. Rowling is if someone swiped her idea of a boy wizard that fought evil while growing up in a boarding school among magical friends? Nikola Tesla is a different example.  Tesla’s work was stolen, by none other than Thomas Edison.

The Tesla/Edison feud is noteworthy and a favorite subject of historians and writers.  It is also a cautionary tale that very neatly proves our point.   Edison has allegedly taken credit for the hard work of many scientists that worked under him and Tesla was no exception.  For many years, it was Edison whose name was lauded while the significant contributions of Tesla were slow to come to light.  Tesla died poor and in debt despite his many great ideas.  He may not have been the best with his money and he did obtain patents, but his story could have been different if Edison had credited – and paid for – the innovative work Tesla did on his behalf.  Intellectual property in Colorado needs to be protected.  If we were around in the days of Tesla, you can bet we would have offered to keep his ideas safe and sound!

How can Creative Law Network protect my world-changing ideas?

We use the intellectual property law in Colorado to protect your ideas, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets by registering them with the appropriate agencies.  These agencies include the U.S. Copyright Office, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and international trademark registration offices worldwide.  Once your intellectual property is registered, we can pursue legal action if someone tries to use or take your ideas.

How can I learn more?

For a free, private, personal consolation about intellectual property law in Colorado, call 720-924-6529.  You can also visit our website where you will see that we are more than Colorado intellectual property law advocates – we strive to protect the rights and assist with the legal issues of all creative people and organizations in Colorado.

Everyone has something to contribute and your idea may be a game-changer.  The consultation is free, so why not pick up the phone and protect your intellectual property today?

National Public Radio’s NPR Music has released it’s Best Music of 2013. Recounting the best new artists is the list of “10 Artists You Should Have Known in 2013.” Creative Law Network’s entertainment attorney Dave Ratner represents two of the bands listed on this exclusive list. Check it out!

The annual Create Denver Expo catalyzes the creative sector by bringing together innovative thinkers, doers and leading business experts to share insights, tools and resources that will help bring your creative ideas to life, stabilize your business, plan for the future and thrive. As a featured speaker, Creative Law Network attorney Dave Ratner will present on "Copyrights, Trademarks and Intellectual Property Law for Creatives." The Create Denver Expo is this Saturday September 21 at the McNichols Building on Civic Center Park. Come check it out! Read More >

Did you know that "Don't Mess With Texas" is a federally-protected trademark? So is "Remember the Alamo". That means only the State of Texas (the trademark owner) can use these slogans or anything similar to these trademarks. This is an important piece of trademark law! And you don't need to be a trademark lawyer to know it. Read More > 

One of the most timeless issues in copyright law involves the most popular song in the world: “Happy Birthday.” Is it true that “Happy Birthday” is protected by copyright? Do you need to get a music license to use “Happy Birthday”? We always thought so but a new lawsuit seeks to prove us wrong. Read More >