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SELECTING A GOOD TRADEMARK
Occasionally a potential startup or early stage entrepreneur has selected
what he/she considers to be a trademark worth a million dollars
itself. "NO!" I say. The value of a trademark is determined
by the company's "good will." If no one has heard of the
mark, if the product or service is not good, or if sales are modest,
the mark is worth essentially nothing. The value of the mark comes
from years of sales and advertising. The best marks from a legal
standpoint are the ones like "Apple" for computers or
"Xerox" for copiers. The term "Apple" has nothing
to do with computers. The term "Xerox" was made up. Do not
get wedded to a mark before doing a trademark clearance search.<
/p>
The best way to pick a trademark is to brainstorm and then select
three to five marks with which you would be happy. Then do a quick
search of those to see which appears to be the safest from a legal
standpoint. Complete the search on that mark. Then file a trademark
application.
Trademark problems often arise when proper clearance has not been
done. Moreover, the problems arise about two to five years down the
road. In that case, the company has been building good will in a mark
that it may very well have to change. It may also have to change its
domain name. The alternative of fighting to keep the mark (and/or
domain name) can be costly. The fall out is not just in paying fees
to lawyers. It can be very hard to obtain financing while in the
midst of a trademark lawsuit. Further, some adversaries target a
company's customers. Then the customers may send the goods back to
the company. I have seen companies with very good products get
snuffed out due to a trademark problem.
Sincerely,
David
Hoffman Patent
Group
28494
Westinghouse Place, Suite 204
Valencia,
California 91355
(661) 775-0300
(661) 775-9423
Fax
David@DLHpatent.com
DLHpatent.com
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PRACTICE TIP:
Always remember: the value of a mark comes from
the merits of the products and services the company provides, not the
other way around. Encourage a safe trademark selection rather than an
emotional choice.
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