IP is usually the most valuable asset a startup owns. But ownership of IP isn’t always as clear as entrepreneurs would prefer. Here’s a hypothetical situation: A + B start a company named ABCo. They have a great idea for a product, but no cash. So they agree to take stock in ABCo. instead of salary. Then they hire C, a developer, to help build their product. They pay C with stock, too. One…
In prior posts, I discussed the basic law of trademarks—an important intellectual-property right for identifying and protecting brands. Copyright is another intellectual-property tool that our Founding Fathers considered so important, they specifically accounted for it in the United States Constitution. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power: “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right…
In a previous post, I mentioned that there are two common ways in which a trademark holder’s rights can be infringed: direct infringement and dilution. Direct infringement occurs when one person uses another person’s trademark in a way that is likely to confuse the public as to the source of a particular good or service. Dilution, on the other hand, occurs when a trademark loses its distinct reference to one specific brand and starts representing…
stansburylegal.com/…/trademark-basics-what-is-a-trademark In last week’s post, I explained some of the basics of what a trademark is, and how it protects both businesses and consumers. Once a valid trademark has been established, the holder of that mark can enforce its rights against other businesses or individuals who infringe upon them. Remember that the purpose of a trademark is to identify and distinguish the source of particular goods or services. Trademark rights are infringed when a third…
You see trademark and service mark symbols every day. But what do they really mean?