What’s in a name? Everything.
We know that when we pop open a can of Coca Cola no matter if you are in Los Angeles or New York you know that you are moments away from that sugary sweet refreshment. Why? Because the trademark on the can tells us so.
When we walk into a McDonalds in Dallas we know they are going to serve us the same delicious Big Mac that we would get in Chicago. Why? Because the trademark on the sign – those famous golden arches – tells us so.
These companies have built their brands, and their products’ identities, on their trademarks. The entirety of your efforts in building your business and a consumer following can be taken away in an instant if consumers can no longer find your brand, your trademark. How can this happen?
Well for one thing if you do not clear use of your trademark before beginning use of the same you could be sued for infringement by another. If they win, they can force you to stop use of your brand altogether – even after years of brand development.
So whether or not you have the greatest product or service in the world it is nothing if consumers can’t find you, if you are forced to change your name after years of effort building your trademark’s brand recognition.
What should you do? You should always protect your trademarks. Conduct clearance reports before using new trademarks. Always register your brand names, slogans, and other matter which can be protected.
If not one day they could be taken away from you and your company’s biggest asset – its recognition among consumers – could become a thing of the past.
The Trademark Company
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Trademark Fast Fact: Remember to Keep Your Contact Info Up To Date with the USPTO
From time to time we are presented with issues created when our clients change addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses and then do not update the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") with these changes.
As a reminder, if you or your company retains registered trademarks with the USPTO it is your responsibility to keep the USPTO advised of any address changes which may occur. If you do not, official correspondence such as challenges to the continued registration of your mark, notice(s) of abandonment, or otherwise, may never reach you.
So remember, to maintain your registrations make sure to keep the USPTO advised of any change in your contact information. This will make sure you receive all notices regarding your marks and could save significant sums if you fail to timely respond to official notices concerning your marks.
The Trademark Company
As a reminder, if you or your company retains registered trademarks with the USPTO it is your responsibility to keep the USPTO advised of any address changes which may occur. If you do not, official correspondence such as challenges to the continued registration of your mark, notice(s) of abandonment, or otherwise, may never reach you.
So remember, to maintain your registrations make sure to keep the USPTO advised of any change in your contact information. This will make sure you receive all notices regarding your marks and could save significant sums if you fail to timely respond to official notices concerning your marks.
The Trademark Company
Friday, January 27, 2012
How to Protect Your Trademark
When thinking about launching a new business, brand, or product line here are some tips to make sure you secure the rights to your trademark before you spend your time and effort building your brand.
1. Clearance Report: Once you have selected the trademark you would like to use always have a research report performed to make sure that the trademark you want to use is available. A properly performed research report will clear use of your trademark or let you know if someone else already has rights in the same thus requiring you to select a different trademark. The time to find out if your trademark is available is before you begin use of the same, not after you have already spent money and effort in developing the brand only to learn you must now cease use of the trademark due to another’s earlier use of a similar mark.
2. Register Your Trademark: Once your trademark has been cleared apply to register the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A registered trademark enjoys many statutory benefits that help its owner in the enforcement of the same.
3. Enforce Against Infringement: Once you own your trademark it is your most important nosiness asset. Protect it. Think about it, if someone tried to steal your work computer wouldn’t you try to stop them? Why should it be any different when someone tries to steal the good will your brand has developed? That is your trademark, your good will. Don’t let others wrongfully trade on your goods and service’s good name. Once you own your trademark you must be prepared to enforce it against those who would infringe upon you.
The Trademark Company
1. Clearance Report: Once you have selected the trademark you would like to use always have a research report performed to make sure that the trademark you want to use is available. A properly performed research report will clear use of your trademark or let you know if someone else already has rights in the same thus requiring you to select a different trademark. The time to find out if your trademark is available is before you begin use of the same, not after you have already spent money and effort in developing the brand only to learn you must now cease use of the trademark due to another’s earlier use of a similar mark.
2. Register Your Trademark: Once your trademark has been cleared apply to register the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A registered trademark enjoys many statutory benefits that help its owner in the enforcement of the same.
3. Enforce Against Infringement: Once you own your trademark it is your most important nosiness asset. Protect it. Think about it, if someone tried to steal your work computer wouldn’t you try to stop them? Why should it be any different when someone tries to steal the good will your brand has developed? That is your trademark, your good will. Don’t let others wrongfully trade on your goods and service’s good name. Once you own your trademark you must be prepared to enforce it against those who would infringe upon you.
The Trademark Company
Thursday, January 26, 2012
4 Essential Steps to Managing Growth
As featured on Inc.com.
A funny little thing happens on the road to
success. Often the prosperity of the business can outpace the ability of the business to maintain that success. At this point most of you are probably wondering what am I talking about. Rapid success can lead to failure? Get real. But it can. And I have seen it repeatedly in all scales of businesses over the past few years.
How does it happen? Let’s say you bring a product to market. It is received well by the public. They begin to buy. You begin to make money. All is good. You begin to advertise the product more and to different segments. Maybe you even diversify and offer variants of the original goods or services to capture a greater market share. You make more money. You are happier than ever. You spend more on advertising. More money flows in. The cycle continues.
One day you get a disturbing memo from accounting. It seems the business is losing money. Not drastically. Not in leaps and bounds but slowly over time. Even though you are bringing in more money than you ever imagined possible there is a slow bleed causing your expenses to exceed, if ever so slightly, your revenues each month.
Your first reaction is typically one of disbelief and anger. Obviously, accounting has made an error. You explain to them your grand vision, how next month you are rolling out more products and services. How revenue has tripled in one year and will double again next year. The accountant looks at you with that blank stare and says the immutable truth of business and accounting: "Numbers don’t lie."
Often as entrepreneurs we become so focused on bringing the product to market, advertising the product, and selling the same that we fail to grow all aspects of the business in unison. As a result, while the business attains its ever-increasing benchmarks in sales it is growing upon an infrastructure that is not keeping pace with the growth of the business. Flaws in management systems slowly begin to be revealed. Quality control is not in sync with the growth. Eventually a tipping point is reached in which these flaws, caused by the failure of the business to grow its infrastructure at the same rate as sales and advertising, cause the system to collapse.
Don’t think this can really happen? It does, and to some of the biggest companies in the world. Over the past few years we have had dealings with one of the largest hand-held device manufacturers in the world. Since 2000 they rocketed to success riding a wave of innovative technology and cutting edge marketing. They went from being a scrappy start-up to one of the world’s leading hand-held device manufacturers with annual sales tipping the charts in the billions.
However, over the past two years this modern titan has experienced a dramatic fall. Sales have plummeted. Once the industry’s leading innovator, today they are, in large part, viewed as a one-trick pony whose time has come and gone. Their latest products come to market with little fanfare and even less consumer interest. Last year their devices, in large part, stopped working due to some technical glitch which took days, and in some cases, weeks to remedy. They have fallen so far from their lofty perch it is now rumored among the major financial papers that the company may be forced to sell off assets to avoid bankruptcy or face the inevitable later this year. Oh, how they mighty have fallen.
How could this happen to such a juggernaut of technology? Notably, within the course of our dealings with them we noticed a few flaws in their structure that inhibited our ability to effectively communicate with the company. In hindsight, these were symptoms of fatal flaws in an organizational structure that had simply failed to keep pace with the growth of the company.
For instance, for months we attempted to reach their online marketing department through various channels only to have our efforts constantly thwarted. Discussions at certain levels had to go through a bureaucracy which was maddening. Ultimately a deal fell apart that, in our opinion, would have been extremely lucrative for all parties. Why?
The answer did not reveal itself until months later when I was having lunch with the company’s general counsel. In short, he revealed that because their company had grown so large so quickly he did not even know who to call within his own organization to get us to the right people to close our deal. In short, he had no idea who to get on the phone to complete our negotiations. Every time he tried to find out he got passed around from department to department within his own company ultimately with no one offering to take responsibility to speak with us. In short, their structure had failed to keep pace with the growth of their company to the extent that even people within the company could not determine who was in charge of various aspects of the company.
Accordingly, despite a meteoric rise to the top of one of the world’s most competitive industries, the afore referenced company is now in a financial free-fall approaching its eventual demise. What can you learn from all of this? You must grow your organizational structure in proportion to your business. Here’s how:
1. Create a Scalable Management Model.
As your business grows you must develop scalable management and quality control systems. In the beginning management and quality control is easy. Perhaps your business begins only as a solo entrepreneurial endeavor or one among just a few people. Everyone has a defined role and everyone knows what everyone else’s role in the company is. Nonetheless, as your business grows and duties become more segmented among new employees, a management structure must be put in place to ensure accountability against established benchmarks as well as to make sure quality control of your goods and services remains constant.
In this regard, each position’s duties and responsibilities should be defined in writing. An organizational chart should be constructed and maintained which clearly defines who is responsible for what, who reports to whom, on what subjects, and how often. If properly segmented over time you will see your organizational structure begin to resemble a pyramid with the CEO on top and increasingly widening rows of persons with specific defined roles thereunder.
2. Define a Quality Control System.
As your company grows you must make sure that the quality of your goods or services is maintained despite its increasing size. As such, you must determine what elements should exist in a quality control system and then assign the responsibility of maintaining that quality to someone within your management model.
For instance, let’s say that you run a call center that, in the early days, existed with only a handful of people. At the beginning it was easy to make sure that everyone used the same scripts and delivered the same quality of customer service for your inbound clients. Yet as you grew it became less clear who was in charge of maintaining that level of customer service on the phones and, as a result, a systemic problem has now developed within your organization. Not all of your sales team are using the same scripts. There is inconsistency in call backs of inbound customers. As a result, your sales and margins begin to slip.
To combat this you must create a quality control system to make sure your systems are being performed on a daily basis and assign a manager in your organization to oversee the same. For every business quality control will differ. If you operate a call center those benchmarks may be overall sales as measured against knowledge of the product, responsiveness, etc. For example, a factory may need to make sure that the work being performed by assembly workers is consistent so that each product leaving their station is assembled perfectly, or within measured perfection, every time. But without a quality control system unique to your business the quality of your product will flounder over time.
Once established, a manager or management team must be specifically assigned to oversee the execution of the system. You need to be able to point to one person, or a team if you are large enough, and say that they are responsible and/or accountable for the quality of your company’s goods or services. This structure, like your sales force, advertising, and other segments of your business, should grow at the same rate as the rest of your business.
For instance, let’s say your business originally consists of an assembly factory with 20 workers assembling various parts of your products. Your initial quality control systems can be managed by one full-time manager. If you grow to 40 workers assembling more and more of your products it is reasonable to assume you will now need two quality control supervisors. If you grow to 60 workers you will need three.
Now the actual number will vary for every company. It suffices to say you must know that it has to grow as well alongside your workforce. And within that growth even those added quality control team must have its own division of responsibility with well-defined roles for quality control of the company.
3. Execute the Systems 100 Percent of the Time.
Now that you have created a scalable management model with a defined quality control system it’s time to make sure it is executed to perfection.
Each person within the management and quality control team by now should know their respective duties and responsibilities. Even so, you must ensure that those systems and assignments are executed without deviation 100 percent of the time. To this end, especially for small and mid-sized businesses, we have found that it is very effective to use daily and weekly checklists to make sure individuals are performing their assigned tasks in a consistent manner.
For instance, a front-line quality control manager may have a daily checklist of five quality control matters to be reviewed on Monday, seven on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, etc. They are responsible on each of those days for performing those tasks and then recording that they have been completed. The manager above them has his or her own checklist of matters to do which includes checking with the subordinate manager on a daily basis to make sure that they performed all of their assigned tasks. It is a simple system but vital to making sure the systems that are created are executed and executed 100 percent of the time.
The person responsible for executing the front-line systems reports to their manager that they have been completed. That manager then reports to their supervisor that all tasks have, or have not been done as required. If all works properly, we are only speaking about a few minutes out of the top level manager’s day to deal with the reporting of the underlying systems. But it makes sure that all of those systems are running and running to perfection.
4. Listen to the Numbers. Numbers Do Not Lie.
Lastly, even when you set up the systems and grow management and quality control systems in pace with your organization’s growth you must still always be mindful of the numbers. Numbers don’t lie. If used properly, they will tell you where additional oversight or changes are needed within your organization to increase efficiency, sales, and quality.
Returning to our opening discussion, let’s say sales are great. They are growing at an unbelievable pace. Yet your accounting department tells you something is amiss. Something is wrong. Your expenses are outpacing your revenue growth. The numbers don’t lie and they will tell you more about the health of your business than anything else.
So what do you do when the numbers tell a story you don’t like? Use them. Use them to determine what the problem is. Create a system to fix the problem and then assign it to someone to manage and create the internal systems to ensure those systems are run to perfection 100 percent of the time.
The Trademark Companyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
A funny little thing happens on the road to
success. Often the prosperity of the business can outpace the ability of the business to maintain that success. At this point most of you are probably wondering what am I talking about. Rapid success can lead to failure? Get real. But it can. And I have seen it repeatedly in all scales of businesses over the past few years.How does it happen? Let’s say you bring a product to market. It is received well by the public. They begin to buy. You begin to make money. All is good. You begin to advertise the product more and to different segments. Maybe you even diversify and offer variants of the original goods or services to capture a greater market share. You make more money. You are happier than ever. You spend more on advertising. More money flows in. The cycle continues.
One day you get a disturbing memo from accounting. It seems the business is losing money. Not drastically. Not in leaps and bounds but slowly over time. Even though you are bringing in more money than you ever imagined possible there is a slow bleed causing your expenses to exceed, if ever so slightly, your revenues each month.
Your first reaction is typically one of disbelief and anger. Obviously, accounting has made an error. You explain to them your grand vision, how next month you are rolling out more products and services. How revenue has tripled in one year and will double again next year. The accountant looks at you with that blank stare and says the immutable truth of business and accounting: "Numbers don’t lie."
Often as entrepreneurs we become so focused on bringing the product to market, advertising the product, and selling the same that we fail to grow all aspects of the business in unison. As a result, while the business attains its ever-increasing benchmarks in sales it is growing upon an infrastructure that is not keeping pace with the growth of the business. Flaws in management systems slowly begin to be revealed. Quality control is not in sync with the growth. Eventually a tipping point is reached in which these flaws, caused by the failure of the business to grow its infrastructure at the same rate as sales and advertising, cause the system to collapse.
Don’t think this can really happen? It does, and to some of the biggest companies in the world. Over the past few years we have had dealings with one of the largest hand-held device manufacturers in the world. Since 2000 they rocketed to success riding a wave of innovative technology and cutting edge marketing. They went from being a scrappy start-up to one of the world’s leading hand-held device manufacturers with annual sales tipping the charts in the billions.
However, over the past two years this modern titan has experienced a dramatic fall. Sales have plummeted. Once the industry’s leading innovator, today they are, in large part, viewed as a one-trick pony whose time has come and gone. Their latest products come to market with little fanfare and even less consumer interest. Last year their devices, in large part, stopped working due to some technical glitch which took days, and in some cases, weeks to remedy. They have fallen so far from their lofty perch it is now rumored among the major financial papers that the company may be forced to sell off assets to avoid bankruptcy or face the inevitable later this year. Oh, how they mighty have fallen.
How could this happen to such a juggernaut of technology? Notably, within the course of our dealings with them we noticed a few flaws in their structure that inhibited our ability to effectively communicate with the company. In hindsight, these were symptoms of fatal flaws in an organizational structure that had simply failed to keep pace with the growth of the company.
For instance, for months we attempted to reach their online marketing department through various channels only to have our efforts constantly thwarted. Discussions at certain levels had to go through a bureaucracy which was maddening. Ultimately a deal fell apart that, in our opinion, would have been extremely lucrative for all parties. Why?
The answer did not reveal itself until months later when I was having lunch with the company’s general counsel. In short, he revealed that because their company had grown so large so quickly he did not even know who to call within his own organization to get us to the right people to close our deal. In short, he had no idea who to get on the phone to complete our negotiations. Every time he tried to find out he got passed around from department to department within his own company ultimately with no one offering to take responsibility to speak with us. In short, their structure had failed to keep pace with the growth of their company to the extent that even people within the company could not determine who was in charge of various aspects of the company.
Accordingly, despite a meteoric rise to the top of one of the world’s most competitive industries, the afore referenced company is now in a financial free-fall approaching its eventual demise. What can you learn from all of this? You must grow your organizational structure in proportion to your business. Here’s how:
1. Create a Scalable Management Model.
As your business grows you must develop scalable management and quality control systems. In the beginning management and quality control is easy. Perhaps your business begins only as a solo entrepreneurial endeavor or one among just a few people. Everyone has a defined role and everyone knows what everyone else’s role in the company is. Nonetheless, as your business grows and duties become more segmented among new employees, a management structure must be put in place to ensure accountability against established benchmarks as well as to make sure quality control of your goods and services remains constant.
In this regard, each position’s duties and responsibilities should be defined in writing. An organizational chart should be constructed and maintained which clearly defines who is responsible for what, who reports to whom, on what subjects, and how often. If properly segmented over time you will see your organizational structure begin to resemble a pyramid with the CEO on top and increasingly widening rows of persons with specific defined roles thereunder.
2. Define a Quality Control System.
As your company grows you must make sure that the quality of your goods or services is maintained despite its increasing size. As such, you must determine what elements should exist in a quality control system and then assign the responsibility of maintaining that quality to someone within your management model.
For instance, let’s say that you run a call center that, in the early days, existed with only a handful of people. At the beginning it was easy to make sure that everyone used the same scripts and delivered the same quality of customer service for your inbound clients. Yet as you grew it became less clear who was in charge of maintaining that level of customer service on the phones and, as a result, a systemic problem has now developed within your organization. Not all of your sales team are using the same scripts. There is inconsistency in call backs of inbound customers. As a result, your sales and margins begin to slip.
To combat this you must create a quality control system to make sure your systems are being performed on a daily basis and assign a manager in your organization to oversee the same. For every business quality control will differ. If you operate a call center those benchmarks may be overall sales as measured against knowledge of the product, responsiveness, etc. For example, a factory may need to make sure that the work being performed by assembly workers is consistent so that each product leaving their station is assembled perfectly, or within measured perfection, every time. But without a quality control system unique to your business the quality of your product will flounder over time.
Once established, a manager or management team must be specifically assigned to oversee the execution of the system. You need to be able to point to one person, or a team if you are large enough, and say that they are responsible and/or accountable for the quality of your company’s goods or services. This structure, like your sales force, advertising, and other segments of your business, should grow at the same rate as the rest of your business.
For instance, let’s say your business originally consists of an assembly factory with 20 workers assembling various parts of your products. Your initial quality control systems can be managed by one full-time manager. If you grow to 40 workers assembling more and more of your products it is reasonable to assume you will now need two quality control supervisors. If you grow to 60 workers you will need three.
Now the actual number will vary for every company. It suffices to say you must know that it has to grow as well alongside your workforce. And within that growth even those added quality control team must have its own division of responsibility with well-defined roles for quality control of the company.
3. Execute the Systems 100 Percent of the Time.
Now that you have created a scalable management model with a defined quality control system it’s time to make sure it is executed to perfection.
Each person within the management and quality control team by now should know their respective duties and responsibilities. Even so, you must ensure that those systems and assignments are executed without deviation 100 percent of the time. To this end, especially for small and mid-sized businesses, we have found that it is very effective to use daily and weekly checklists to make sure individuals are performing their assigned tasks in a consistent manner.
For instance, a front-line quality control manager may have a daily checklist of five quality control matters to be reviewed on Monday, seven on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, etc. They are responsible on each of those days for performing those tasks and then recording that they have been completed. The manager above them has his or her own checklist of matters to do which includes checking with the subordinate manager on a daily basis to make sure that they performed all of their assigned tasks. It is a simple system but vital to making sure the systems that are created are executed and executed 100 percent of the time.
The person responsible for executing the front-line systems reports to their manager that they have been completed. That manager then reports to their supervisor that all tasks have, or have not been done as required. If all works properly, we are only speaking about a few minutes out of the top level manager’s day to deal with the reporting of the underlying systems. But it makes sure that all of those systems are running and running to perfection.
4. Listen to the Numbers. Numbers Do Not Lie.
Lastly, even when you set up the systems and grow management and quality control systems in pace with your organization’s growth you must still always be mindful of the numbers. Numbers don’t lie. If used properly, they will tell you where additional oversight or changes are needed within your organization to increase efficiency, sales, and quality.
Returning to our opening discussion, let’s say sales are great. They are growing at an unbelievable pace. Yet your accounting department tells you something is amiss. Something is wrong. Your expenses are outpacing your revenue growth. The numbers don’t lie and they will tell you more about the health of your business than anything else.
So what do you do when the numbers tell a story you don’t like? Use them. Use them to determine what the problem is. Create a system to fix the problem and then assign it to someone to manage and create the internal systems to ensure those systems are run to perfection 100 percent of the time.
The Trademark Companyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Want a Discount? Just Ask.
As Featured on Inc.com.
Awhile back I was having lunch with a few friends. After the bill came she looked at it, called the waiter over to the table, and explained
that she wanted 10 percent off of the bill. Looking somewhat puzzled the waiter asked if there was something wrong with her food? “No,” she replied. “The service,” he inquired. “No,” again was her reply. “Why?” then he finally asked. Her reply stunned all of us at the table. She simply felt that the cost was too much and wanted a discount. We all chuckled as the waiter left to speak with his manager about the request. However, to our surprise, he returned a few minutes later and said his manager agreed to give her 10 percent off of the bill.
We were amazed. How did she do it? How did she literally get them to knock 10 percent off of the bill? We asked her what the secret was? Her reply was brief and amazingly simply: “I asked.”
It seems that our friend had learned long ago to always ask for a discount. Why? Why not? Over the years she had made a practice of simply asking for discounts. This practice was not merely limited to restaurants. Every time she would buy something she would always ask. Most times she gets a discount. Just for asking. From the purchase of clothing at department stores to groceries, she always asks.
A few weeks later we were at a neighborhood party and the subject came up among some of the attendees. One of our neighbors is the CEO of relatively large company. He stated that one of the most fascinating courses he took while getting his MBA was one in which on a given day the professor challenged each member of the class to bring in a gallon of milk the next day and see, through negotiation, how little they could pay for the same. Amazingly, the next day the class arrived with their stories concerning their various negotiation tactics. Of note, roughly 80 percent of the class had received the milk completely for free with the remaining 20 percent having purchased it at a severe discount. What was the common element of all of the stories? Quite simply, they asked for a discount.
So how does all of this apply to your business? Simple. Ask for discounts.
On the heels of my lunch and neighborhood party we began looking at our various ways to save our company money. As a business heavily reliant upon accepting credit cards, one of our major overhead costs is merchant account fees. So what did we do? We called our merchant provider and requested that they reduce the rate they charge for our processing our credit card transactions. How did they respond? They agreed to reduce our rates! In one phone call—about ten minutes of time—we received a reduction in our merchant processing rate which equates to thousands of dollars in savings every month. Just for asking.
So how can you use this to save money in your business?
1. List Your Expenses: Create a list of your recurring monthly expenses. Make sure to include credit card processing fees, advertising expenses, other service providers.
2. Call and Ask for Discounts: Call your service providers and, quite simply, ask for discounts. You’ll be surprised how readily you will receive the same. And don’t be shy about mentioning how their competition would love to have your business. That will often be the spark they need to offer that discount.
3. Train Yourself to Keep Asking: Finally train yourself to keep asking for discounts, personally and professionally.
You may not receive a discount every time you ask. But you will definitely get some. Just for doing one, simple task. Just ask.
The Trademark Company
Awhile back I was having lunch with a few friends. After the bill came she looked at it, called the waiter over to the table, and explained
that she wanted 10 percent off of the bill. Looking somewhat puzzled the waiter asked if there was something wrong with her food? “No,” she replied. “The service,” he inquired. “No,” again was her reply. “Why?” then he finally asked. Her reply stunned all of us at the table. She simply felt that the cost was too much and wanted a discount. We all chuckled as the waiter left to speak with his manager about the request. However, to our surprise, he returned a few minutes later and said his manager agreed to give her 10 percent off of the bill.We were amazed. How did she do it? How did she literally get them to knock 10 percent off of the bill? We asked her what the secret was? Her reply was brief and amazingly simply: “I asked.”
It seems that our friend had learned long ago to always ask for a discount. Why? Why not? Over the years she had made a practice of simply asking for discounts. This practice was not merely limited to restaurants. Every time she would buy something she would always ask. Most times she gets a discount. Just for asking. From the purchase of clothing at department stores to groceries, she always asks.
A few weeks later we were at a neighborhood party and the subject came up among some of the attendees. One of our neighbors is the CEO of relatively large company. He stated that one of the most fascinating courses he took while getting his MBA was one in which on a given day the professor challenged each member of the class to bring in a gallon of milk the next day and see, through negotiation, how little they could pay for the same. Amazingly, the next day the class arrived with their stories concerning their various negotiation tactics. Of note, roughly 80 percent of the class had received the milk completely for free with the remaining 20 percent having purchased it at a severe discount. What was the common element of all of the stories? Quite simply, they asked for a discount.
So how does all of this apply to your business? Simple. Ask for discounts.
On the heels of my lunch and neighborhood party we began looking at our various ways to save our company money. As a business heavily reliant upon accepting credit cards, one of our major overhead costs is merchant account fees. So what did we do? We called our merchant provider and requested that they reduce the rate they charge for our processing our credit card transactions. How did they respond? They agreed to reduce our rates! In one phone call—about ten minutes of time—we received a reduction in our merchant processing rate which equates to thousands of dollars in savings every month. Just for asking.
So how can you use this to save money in your business?
1. List Your Expenses: Create a list of your recurring monthly expenses. Make sure to include credit card processing fees, advertising expenses, other service providers.
2. Call and Ask for Discounts: Call your service providers and, quite simply, ask for discounts. You’ll be surprised how readily you will receive the same. And don’t be shy about mentioning how their competition would love to have your business. That will often be the spark they need to offer that discount.
3. Train Yourself to Keep Asking: Finally train yourself to keep asking for discounts, personally and professionally.
You may not receive a discount every time you ask. But you will definitely get some. Just for doing one, simple task. Just ask.
The Trademark Company
Monday, January 23, 2012
3 Tips for Posting Your Legal Questions in Open Internet Forums
As we are all aware, once something is posted on the Internet it is generally available for public viewing by all. A recent trend that we have seen with potentially damaging consequences is posting one’s legal questions in an open forum or chat room and inviting advice from others on the subject.
The solicitation of the advice is not the issue. Rather, it is the posting of information concerning a specific case or fact scenario which may then, potentially, be used against you in court should the matter ever escalate into a dispute or litigation. As you may not be aware, admissions against your interests, even if made unknowingly, can be used against you in a court of law.
Recently we reviewed a very fact-specific question from an individual posted in an open legal forum online. The post detailed the facts and circumstances of the individual’s use of a new trademark, his receipt of a cease and desist letter regarding that trademark, and his reaction to and solicitation of advice surrounding a potential response to the letter. As we scrolled through the replies a very ominous posting was listed about 4 messages down from the actual party who had sent the cease and desist letter to the individual initiating the discussion. In short, it thanked the man for admitting online to the infringement, which he unknowingly had, and stated that the post had been copied and was being forwarded to an attorney for inclusion in the lawsuit that would be filed later that week. Wow.
Our advice to all that read this is simple: Don’t find out how small the world really is by posting your legal questions online only to find out the subject of your posting is also a member of the same forum. If, after reading our admonition, you still feel compelled to use this type of medium here are a few tips we suggest that you implement:
1. Use a Pen Name. Never use your real name in posts or, if possible, to register an account for posting in a forum. This way you can post your legal questions in anonymity with less fear that the same will be attributed to you down the road.
2. Use Hypothetical Examples. Never use the real facts involved. Always phrase your question or questions in terms of hypotheticals (i.e., “Company A uses the trademark WIDGET for cat food. Company B starts using the trademark WIDGET for dog food. Is this a problem?”)
3. Never Identify the Other Party. As you should not use your own name you also should not use the name of the other party. In addition to potentially alerting them of your posts if they use services such as Google Alerts or otherwise, you may run afoul of libel laws if your posts are derogatory or otherwise negative in nature towards the other party.
So keep posting if you must. Just please be careful.
The Trademark Company
The solicitation of the advice is not the issue. Rather, it is the posting of information concerning a specific case or fact scenario which may then, potentially, be used against you in court should the matter ever escalate into a dispute or litigation. As you may not be aware, admissions against your interests, even if made unknowingly, can be used against you in a court of law.
Recently we reviewed a very fact-specific question from an individual posted in an open legal forum online. The post detailed the facts and circumstances of the individual’s use of a new trademark, his receipt of a cease and desist letter regarding that trademark, and his reaction to and solicitation of advice surrounding a potential response to the letter. As we scrolled through the replies a very ominous posting was listed about 4 messages down from the actual party who had sent the cease and desist letter to the individual initiating the discussion. In short, it thanked the man for admitting online to the infringement, which he unknowingly had, and stated that the post had been copied and was being forwarded to an attorney for inclusion in the lawsuit that would be filed later that week. Wow.
Our advice to all that read this is simple: Don’t find out how small the world really is by posting your legal questions online only to find out the subject of your posting is also a member of the same forum. If, after reading our admonition, you still feel compelled to use this type of medium here are a few tips we suggest that you implement:
1. Use a Pen Name. Never use your real name in posts or, if possible, to register an account for posting in a forum. This way you can post your legal questions in anonymity with less fear that the same will be attributed to you down the road.
2. Use Hypothetical Examples. Never use the real facts involved. Always phrase your question or questions in terms of hypotheticals (i.e., “Company A uses the trademark WIDGET for cat food. Company B starts using the trademark WIDGET for dog food. Is this a problem?”)
3. Never Identify the Other Party. As you should not use your own name you also should not use the name of the other party. In addition to potentially alerting them of your posts if they use services such as Google Alerts or otherwise, you may run afoul of libel laws if your posts are derogatory or otherwise negative in nature towards the other party.
So keep posting if you must. Just please be careful.
The Trademark Company
Friday, January 20, 2012
Trademarks and Priority: What You Need to Know
We are often asked by our customers whether they can register a trademark and then use that registered trademark to force someone else to stop using the same. The answer, it depends.
Many fail to understand how trademark rights are acquired. In general you can acquire trademark rights in one of two ways: (1) use; and/or (2) filing.
First, simply by using a trademark in commerce an entity acquires rights in that trademark in connection with the goods or services with which it is used.
Second, whether or not a trademark is in use you may also acquire rights in the trademark by filing and subsequently registering the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
As such, merely registering a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will not give you superior rights to a trademark over another if that other used the trademark in commerce prior to your use or filing of the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
So the determination of who retains priority of use in a trademark dispute is often a complex factual analysis. You cannot merely assume that if you were the first to register a trademark you actually have superior rights to all others in that trademark. Due diligence must still be conducted to make sure your use date or filing date predates the other party sufficient to secure your priority of use and, accordingly, superior rights in a mark.
The Trademark Company
Many fail to understand how trademark rights are acquired. In general you can acquire trademark rights in one of two ways: (1) use; and/or (2) filing.
First, simply by using a trademark in commerce an entity acquires rights in that trademark in connection with the goods or services with which it is used.
Second, whether or not a trademark is in use you may also acquire rights in the trademark by filing and subsequently registering the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
As such, merely registering a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will not give you superior rights to a trademark over another if that other used the trademark in commerce prior to your use or filing of the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
So the determination of who retains priority of use in a trademark dispute is often a complex factual analysis. You cannot merely assume that if you were the first to register a trademark you actually have superior rights to all others in that trademark. Due diligence must still be conducted to make sure your use date or filing date predates the other party sufficient to secure your priority of use and, accordingly, superior rights in a mark.
The Trademark Company
Trademarks and Priority: What You Need to Know
We are often asked by our customers whether they can register a trademark and then use that registered trademark to force someone else to stop using the same. The answer, it depends.
Many fail to understand how trademark rights are acquired. In general you can acquire trademark rights in one of two ways: (1) use; and/or (2) filing.
First, simply by using a trademark in commerce an entity acquires rights in that trademark in connection with the goods or services with which it is used.
Second, whether or not a trademark is in use you may also acquire rights in the trademark by filing and subsequently registering the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
As such, merely registering a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will not give you superior rights to a trademark over another if that other used the trademark in commerce prior to your use or filing of the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
So the determination of who retains priority of use in a trademark dispute is often a complex factual analysis. You cannot merely assume that if you were the first to register a trademark you actually have superior rights to all others in that trademark. Due diligence must still be conducted to make sure your use date or filing date predates the other party sufficient to secure your priority of use and, accordingly, superior rights in a mark.
The Trademark Company
Many fail to understand how trademark rights are acquired. In general you can acquire trademark rights in one of two ways: (1) use; and/or (2) filing.
First, simply by using a trademark in commerce an entity acquires rights in that trademark in connection with the goods or services with which it is used.
Second, whether or not a trademark is in use you may also acquire rights in the trademark by filing and subsequently registering the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
As such, merely registering a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will not give you superior rights to a trademark over another if that other used the trademark in commerce prior to your use or filing of the same with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
So the determination of who retains priority of use in a trademark dispute is often a complex factual analysis. You cannot merely assume that if you were the first to register a trademark you actually have superior rights to all others in that trademark. Due diligence must still be conducted to make sure your use date or filing date predates the other party sufficient to secure your priority of use and, accordingly, superior rights in a mark.
The Trademark Company
Thursday, January 19, 2012
4 Traits of Great Leaders
As Featured on Inc.com.
It is often said that hindsight is 20/20. By looking to the past we can learn how better to adapt and achieve in the future. By learning from lessons of old we can accomplish great things if we only listen to what we have been taught.
Throughout my life I have been fortunate to have been mentored by leaders great and those individually successful yet lacking the ability to lead others. Some individuals can achieve a great level of success but lack the ability to drive a great organization forward. As such, they are always limited to their individual accomplishments. Great leaders, however, can lead many to accomplishments above what they themselves thought possible and, in turn, to levels of success above and beyond what the individualists will ever accomplish.
Here are the traits that these leaders exhibit that give them the ability to achieve these lofty ideals.
Aspire
Great leaders aspire to reach beyond that which convention says is possible. They know that greatness is not achieved by reaching for mediocrity. They reach for figuratively, and in one instance literally, the moon.
President John F. Kennedy stepped to the podium on a warm September day in 1962 and delivered the memorable lines “…We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…”
In this moment he set an aspiration we had never believed possible. He aspired for greatness for an entire nation. To break free of our earthly limits and land a man safely upon another terrestrial body. As a result of those public aspirations within the decade Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would take mankind’s first steps on the moon.
Great leaders do not aim for the easily achievable. They aspire for loftier goals. Why, you may ask? Because if you plan for mediocrity all that you and those around you will ever achieve is just that, mediocrity. But if you aspire for greatness, even if you come up short, more likely than not you will still achieve a level greater than that which you knew you could reach. Great leaders always aim for goals higher than others think can be achieved.
Aspire to greatness.
Plan
But to achieve greatness you must also have a plan. Aspiration without a plan is simply a dream. What materializes the aspiration into reality is the plan. On June 6, 1944 the Allies did not wake up and say, “Time to take back Europe from the Axis – Let’s Go.” There was a plan. In reality, a plan that took months to develop and one of the most carefully and detailed in military history.
By 1944 the Germans occupied all of continental Europe. To win the war the Allies had to reclaim France and other occupied territory. Planning for the invasion began months in advance. The Axis feared an invasion on the Western Front. It created what became known as Fortress Europe building the Atlantic Wall, a defensive barrier of concrete, steel, imbedded troops and weapons more than 1200 miles long stretching from Denmark to the Spanish border.
The shortest shipping distance from England to France was to the Pas de Calais region. It was here the Axis expected the Allies to invade. It was here Fortress Europe was strengthened with mines, barbed wire, other obstructions and powerful artillery.
But the Allies had a better idea – a better plan. The British and Americans selected, instead, a landing place further south, on the coast of Normandy. It was nearly 75 miles from England but was much less defended than Pas de Calais. Every detail of the invasion was scripted. Nothing left to chance. And as we now know, the details of that plan, and the countless sacrifices made in executing the same, turned the tides of the war in Europe and the fate of the world as we know it.
Have a plan.
Inspire
But before you can execute the plan you must inspire those around you that they can achieve by following the plan. You must inspire them to achieve the aspiration through the plan.
We need not look to world leaders or now iconic military figures to demonstrate this point. We need only look as far as our local heroes and those who mentor us on a day-to-day basis.
Many years ago I was fortunate enough to play football for the legendary Florida high school football coach Sam Budnyk. For 47 years he coached the Cardinal Newman Crusaders of West Palm Beach, Florida, to countless wins including victories over teams that, on paper, were superior to Coach Budnyk’s teams in every way. But as the old expression goes, that’s why they play the games.
Coach Budnyk believed in his teams and the young men who played for him. For nearly five decades every fall Friday night he challenged young men to rise to the occasion and be the best that they could be. To accept any challenge and turn them into opportunities. In short, he inspired generations of young men to accomplish more than they thought they could achieve. And we did.
To this day Coach Budnyk is the all-time winningest football coach in Palm Beach County, a region of the country which arguably can claim the largest percentage of active and retired professional football players from the NFL as well as countless athletes that played on NCAA championship football teams. Coach Budnyk’s teams included some of these athletes, but played against more, and won against most. Why? Because he inspired us to do so, to be better, to achieve greatness.
Inspire those who will act on the plan.
Execute
But as Coach Budnyk would always tell his young men, potential in the absence of achievement doesn’t mean anything. You must aspire to greatness. You must plan the path to get there. You must inspire to achieve the aspiration. But ultimately you have to execute the plan to reach your goal. There is no better example of how these four factors come together to achieve great things than the events which began to unfold on April 14, 1970 173,790 miles from Earth.
On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 launched from Cape Kennedy. Apollo 13 was the seventh manned Apollo mission and third intended to land on the Moon. Three days into the mission an oxygen tank exploded crippling the spacecraft. In a millisecond NASA’s planned third landing on the moon shifted into a rescue and recovery mode.
Could they fix the craft remotely? Could they get it back to Earth? Could they save the lives of the three astronauts still hurdling through space towards the moon?
NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz famously stepped to the plate and with the oft uttered creed “Failure is not an option” led a team that would ultimately bring home James A. Lovell, John L. "Jack" Swigert, and Fred W. Haise.
Presented with a near impossible evolving series of challenges Kranz and his team aspired to bring the crippled ship home. They planned, tested, and re-planned every aspect of what would be needed to accomplish the goal. The team was inspired by the setting forth of all options and that failure was never considered as an option. And finally, and most critically, the team executed the plan accomplishing arguably NASA’s greatest feat: on April 17, 1970 Apollo 13 came home.
Aspire. Plan. Inspire. Execute. Achieve your greatness.
The Trademark Company
It is often said that hindsight is 20/20. By looking to the past we can learn how better to adapt and achieve in the future. By learning from lessons of old we can accomplish great things if we only listen to what we have been taught.
Throughout my life I have been fortunate to have been mentored by leaders great and those individually successful yet lacking the ability to lead others. Some individuals can achieve a great level of success but lack the ability to drive a great organization forward. As such, they are always limited to their individual accomplishments. Great leaders, however, can lead many to accomplishments above what they themselves thought possible and, in turn, to levels of success above and beyond what the individualists will ever accomplish.
Here are the traits that these leaders exhibit that give them the ability to achieve these lofty ideals.
Aspire
Great leaders aspire to reach beyond that which convention says is possible. They know that greatness is not achieved by reaching for mediocrity. They reach for figuratively, and in one instance literally, the moon.
President John F. Kennedy stepped to the podium on a warm September day in 1962 and delivered the memorable lines “…We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…”
In this moment he set an aspiration we had never believed possible. He aspired for greatness for an entire nation. To break free of our earthly limits and land a man safely upon another terrestrial body. As a result of those public aspirations within the decade Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would take mankind’s first steps on the moon.
Great leaders do not aim for the easily achievable. They aspire for loftier goals. Why, you may ask? Because if you plan for mediocrity all that you and those around you will ever achieve is just that, mediocrity. But if you aspire for greatness, even if you come up short, more likely than not you will still achieve a level greater than that which you knew you could reach. Great leaders always aim for goals higher than others think can be achieved.
Aspire to greatness.
Plan
But to achieve greatness you must also have a plan. Aspiration without a plan is simply a dream. What materializes the aspiration into reality is the plan. On June 6, 1944 the Allies did not wake up and say, “Time to take back Europe from the Axis – Let’s Go.” There was a plan. In reality, a plan that took months to develop and one of the most carefully and detailed in military history.
By 1944 the Germans occupied all of continental Europe. To win the war the Allies had to reclaim France and other occupied territory. Planning for the invasion began months in advance. The Axis feared an invasion on the Western Front. It created what became known as Fortress Europe building the Atlantic Wall, a defensive barrier of concrete, steel, imbedded troops and weapons more than 1200 miles long stretching from Denmark to the Spanish border.
The shortest shipping distance from England to France was to the Pas de Calais region. It was here the Axis expected the Allies to invade. It was here Fortress Europe was strengthened with mines, barbed wire, other obstructions and powerful artillery.
But the Allies had a better idea – a better plan. The British and Americans selected, instead, a landing place further south, on the coast of Normandy. It was nearly 75 miles from England but was much less defended than Pas de Calais. Every detail of the invasion was scripted. Nothing left to chance. And as we now know, the details of that plan, and the countless sacrifices made in executing the same, turned the tides of the war in Europe and the fate of the world as we know it.
Have a plan.
Inspire
But before you can execute the plan you must inspire those around you that they can achieve by following the plan. You must inspire them to achieve the aspiration through the plan.
We need not look to world leaders or now iconic military figures to demonstrate this point. We need only look as far as our local heroes and those who mentor us on a day-to-day basis.
Many years ago I was fortunate enough to play football for the legendary Florida high school football coach Sam Budnyk. For 47 years he coached the Cardinal Newman Crusaders of West Palm Beach, Florida, to countless wins including victories over teams that, on paper, were superior to Coach Budnyk’s teams in every way. But as the old expression goes, that’s why they play the games.
Coach Budnyk believed in his teams and the young men who played for him. For nearly five decades every fall Friday night he challenged young men to rise to the occasion and be the best that they could be. To accept any challenge and turn them into opportunities. In short, he inspired generations of young men to accomplish more than they thought they could achieve. And we did.
To this day Coach Budnyk is the all-time winningest football coach in Palm Beach County, a region of the country which arguably can claim the largest percentage of active and retired professional football players from the NFL as well as countless athletes that played on NCAA championship football teams. Coach Budnyk’s teams included some of these athletes, but played against more, and won against most. Why? Because he inspired us to do so, to be better, to achieve greatness.
Inspire those who will act on the plan.
Execute
But as Coach Budnyk would always tell his young men, potential in the absence of achievement doesn’t mean anything. You must aspire to greatness. You must plan the path to get there. You must inspire to achieve the aspiration. But ultimately you have to execute the plan to reach your goal. There is no better example of how these four factors come together to achieve great things than the events which began to unfold on April 14, 1970 173,790 miles from Earth.
On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 launched from Cape Kennedy. Apollo 13 was the seventh manned Apollo mission and third intended to land on the Moon. Three days into the mission an oxygen tank exploded crippling the spacecraft. In a millisecond NASA’s planned third landing on the moon shifted into a rescue and recovery mode.
Could they fix the craft remotely? Could they get it back to Earth? Could they save the lives of the three astronauts still hurdling through space towards the moon?
NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz famously stepped to the plate and with the oft uttered creed “Failure is not an option” led a team that would ultimately bring home James A. Lovell, John L. "Jack" Swigert, and Fred W. Haise.
Presented with a near impossible evolving series of challenges Kranz and his team aspired to bring the crippled ship home. They planned, tested, and re-planned every aspect of what would be needed to accomplish the goal. The team was inspired by the setting forth of all options and that failure was never considered as an option. And finally, and most critically, the team executed the plan accomplishing arguably NASA’s greatest feat: on April 17, 1970 Apollo 13 came home.
Aspire. Plan. Inspire. Execute. Achieve your greatness.
The Trademark Company
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
When Do You Acquire Rights in a Trademark? Here’s What You Need to Know.
One of the most popular questions we receive here at The Trademark Company is when do you acquire rights in a trademark?
In the United States there are two ways that you can acquire federal trademark rights. First, you can acquire rights by using the trademark in interstate commerce. Second, you can acquire rights by filing to protect the trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
In regard to use-based acquisition, a person or entity acquires rights in any trademark they begin use of in interstate commerce for the purpose of identifying their goods or services. In short, when McDonald's first started selling hamburgers way back when they did not have to file to protect their trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They acquired rights as soon as their restaurant services began affecting interstate commerce.
On the other end of the spectrum, once you file for protection of your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and provided that the application matures into a registration, your trademark rights will revert back to the date of the filing of your trademark application.
So we truly have a two-way acquisition system here in the U.S. for trademark rights: use and filing.
Many will then ask why then should we register our trademarks? Well, for a relatively modest fee the registration of your trademarks in large part quiets title for you in the trademark, makes it far easier to enforce the same, and provides the holder thereof with a host of additional remedies in the event the trademark is ever infringed upon.
So if you are using a trademark get it registered. It will deter others from infringing upon the same and provide you with a host of additional remedies should enforcement ever be required. If you are yet to begin use of a new trademark but know what you want to use it in connection with file an intent-to-use application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as soon as possible. You will be glad that you did.
The Trademark Company
In the United States there are two ways that you can acquire federal trademark rights. First, you can acquire rights by using the trademark in interstate commerce. Second, you can acquire rights by filing to protect the trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
In regard to use-based acquisition, a person or entity acquires rights in any trademark they begin use of in interstate commerce for the purpose of identifying their goods or services. In short, when McDonald's first started selling hamburgers way back when they did not have to file to protect their trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They acquired rights as soon as their restaurant services began affecting interstate commerce.
On the other end of the spectrum, once you file for protection of your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and provided that the application matures into a registration, your trademark rights will revert back to the date of the filing of your trademark application.
So we truly have a two-way acquisition system here in the U.S. for trademark rights: use and filing.
Many will then ask why then should we register our trademarks? Well, for a relatively modest fee the registration of your trademarks in large part quiets title for you in the trademark, makes it far easier to enforce the same, and provides the holder thereof with a host of additional remedies in the event the trademark is ever infringed upon.
So if you are using a trademark get it registered. It will deter others from infringing upon the same and provide you with a host of additional remedies should enforcement ever be required. If you are yet to begin use of a new trademark but know what you want to use it in connection with file an intent-to-use application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as soon as possible. You will be glad that you did.
The Trademark Company
Monday, January 16, 2012
5 Things I Look for in a Great Job Interview
As featured on Inc.com.
In my career I have reviewed thousands of resumes and conducted hundreds of employment interviews for both The Trademark Company and other businesses for which I have worked. In doing so, I got to see the good, the bad, and the downright ugly in terms of resumes, interviewing skills, and the like. Here are my tips, for other CEOs looking to hire, that make a great resume stand out from the good ones.
1. Attention to detail
How many times have you heard this one, right? Pay attention to detail. Let me say it again, PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL!
There’s a great story at the end of the movie Coming to America with Eddie Murphy. It goes something like this:
A man goes into a restaurant. He's having a bowl of soup and he says to the waiter, “Waiter come taste the soup.” The waiter says, “Is something wrong with the soup?” He says “Taste the soup.” The waiter says again, “Is there something wrong with the soup? Is the soup too hot?” The man says again, “Will you taste the soup?“ “What's wrong, is the soup too cold?" Replies the waiter. “Will you just taste the soup?!” “All right, I'll taste the soup,” says the waiter, “where's the spoon??” “Aha. Aha! ...”
At this point you may be asking yourself, “Okay, so what does this have to do with identifying a great candidate?”
Not less than two months ago I received a wonderful e-mail from an applicant seeking to work for The Trademark Company. Their e-mail was personally crafted. Their note struck a wonderful tone emphasizing capability and a willingness to learn more about what we do here. Most importantly, they emphasized their attention to detail. I was sold. I was ready to open up their resume and see what they had to offer. And then, “Aha. Aha! ...”
The applicant had failed to attach their resume. In the blink of an eye all of the time they had spent preparing for this submission, researching me, the company, and the job’s requirements, vanished into thin air. Poof!
Some CEOs may have overlooked this and just asked for the resume. But you can’t say you have an eye for detail and then fail to deliver on the point. Everything the candidate does, from their cover letter to their resume and beyond must prove that point. Otherwise they are just wasting your time. I passed on that candidate.
2. Proofread
My contracts professor in law school told this one to the class one day. Although he was an otherwise socially-challenged individual this story has always stayed with me.
It seems that at some juncture he was involved in delivering a speech on some topic way back when that involved a “public option.” He had written and prepared the speech but had left the PowerPoint slide presentation to one of his assistants.
Well, as he began delivering his speech–a seemingly dry speech–he could not understand why a wave of chuckles and murmurs would, from time to time, arise from the audience. It was not until he neared the end of his presentation that he glanced up at the screen projecting the bullet points of his speech behind him. And right there, right in that moment, he understood with perfect clarity why his speech had evoked the unexpected reaction from the crowd.
You see, if you omit the letter “L” from the word “public” it won’t be picked up by spell check. It will, however, be picked up by anyone else reading the slides as you deliver your speech on the “pubic option.”
This could very well be you at your next sales presentation...pissed and embarrassed because you overlooked your employee's failure to proofread his resume during the hiring process. So, check the candidates resume and cover letter for misspellings that spell check might have missed. In so doing you will make sure that you hire someone that's thorough and doesn't rely on spell check to do their job.
3. Preparedness
Personally, one of the first things I always do after an interviewee leaves is to ask every single person who came into contact with them what they thought. Why you might ask? You never know what little windows into your prospective employee this may provide.
For instance, once I asked one of our receptionists what they thought of a particular interviewee. I was very surprised to hear what she had to say. She said she thought the interviewee was pleasant but they did have some trouble with her when she first arrived. Of course I inquired as to why. It seems that upon arriving the prospective employee had no idea who she was interviewing with so the receptionist had to call around the office for ten minutes until she could figure out who to notify that their appointment had arrived. I have to say, I thought this displayed a lack of preparedness on the interviewee’s part, especially in consideration she was interviewing for a job that had primary scheduling responsibilities for me and would require her to know and keep track of all of our most important customers.
In another case, after a 45-minute interview the interviewee stood and said, “Mark, thanks for the second interview.” Big problem, my name is Matt. Nevertheless, I shrugged it off as perhaps I had misheard the applicant or maybe he had simply had a momentary lapse of reason. However, when I walked him to the door he proudly reiterated my name, “Mark, again thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.” Every fiber in my being yearned to reply, “Well, if I meet this Mark fellow I’ll be sure to have him call you.” I did not. I also did not call him back.
A candidate should know everything about you that they can find out and engage you on a level that you will enjoy and that moves you one step closer to offering them the job.
4. Phone and e-mail correspondence
Another thing that also gets overlooked is professionalism in e-mail and phone communications. I pay attention to the candidate's e-mail address and how they answer their personal phone.
Sure we all have private lives, but we all have to be professional in dealing with employers and, most importantly, prospective employers. As such, if their e-mail address is "bigsexy@gmail.com" or “hunkaburninlove@yahoo.com” think twice about hiring them. Gmail, Yahoo!, as well as other like companies have a great price point for new e-mail addresses: free! There's no excuse for not having a professional-looking e-mail address.
For me, an interview starts when I call you to set up the interview. Recently I called an applicant, they picked up the phone, and they must have been at a the reunion tour of Van Halen because all I could hear was “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout’ Love” blasting through my phone. I mean, it was so loud I could actually see people in my office starting to bob their heads to the tunes. After a few attempts shouting into the phone “Is [Name Omitted] there?” finally the music parted and I was able to hear once again. The heads stopped bobbing in my office and the person on the other end said “Speaking.” Ahhhh. Well, I know they love music...and that they lack judgement.
5. Honesty is over rated
Yes, you want your potential employee to answer questions truthfully, but answering too truthfully may also show a lack of judgement. For instance, I often ask the hypothetical question, "If you were hired and six months after you were hired another opportunity presents itself would you go on an interview for that opportunity?" You would be surprised at how many people say they would. Wrong answer!!
Let’s take one of my more infamous examples. Once I was asking a prospective employee to explain an 18-month gap in his employment history. To this day I remember his response verbatim. It went like this: "Man, the whole work thing ... ya' know... like, wow." I was left both mouth agape and speechless by the answer. Needless to say... He did not get the job.
The Trademark Company
In my career I have reviewed thousands of resumes and conducted hundreds of employment interviews for both The Trademark Company and other businesses for which I have worked. In doing so, I got to see the good, the bad, and the downright ugly in terms of resumes, interviewing skills, and the like. Here are my tips, for other CEOs looking to hire, that make a great resume stand out from the good ones.
1. Attention to detail
How many times have you heard this one, right? Pay attention to detail. Let me say it again, PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL!
There’s a great story at the end of the movie Coming to America with Eddie Murphy. It goes something like this:
A man goes into a restaurant. He's having a bowl of soup and he says to the waiter, “Waiter come taste the soup.” The waiter says, “Is something wrong with the soup?” He says “Taste the soup.” The waiter says again, “Is there something wrong with the soup? Is the soup too hot?” The man says again, “Will you taste the soup?“ “What's wrong, is the soup too cold?" Replies the waiter. “Will you just taste the soup?!” “All right, I'll taste the soup,” says the waiter, “where's the spoon??” “Aha. Aha! ...”
At this point you may be asking yourself, “Okay, so what does this have to do with identifying a great candidate?”
Not less than two months ago I received a wonderful e-mail from an applicant seeking to work for The Trademark Company. Their e-mail was personally crafted. Their note struck a wonderful tone emphasizing capability and a willingness to learn more about what we do here. Most importantly, they emphasized their attention to detail. I was sold. I was ready to open up their resume and see what they had to offer. And then, “Aha. Aha! ...”
The applicant had failed to attach their resume. In the blink of an eye all of the time they had spent preparing for this submission, researching me, the company, and the job’s requirements, vanished into thin air. Poof!
Some CEOs may have overlooked this and just asked for the resume. But you can’t say you have an eye for detail and then fail to deliver on the point. Everything the candidate does, from their cover letter to their resume and beyond must prove that point. Otherwise they are just wasting your time. I passed on that candidate.
2. Proofread
My contracts professor in law school told this one to the class one day. Although he was an otherwise socially-challenged individual this story has always stayed with me.
It seems that at some juncture he was involved in delivering a speech on some topic way back when that involved a “public option.” He had written and prepared the speech but had left the PowerPoint slide presentation to one of his assistants.
Well, as he began delivering his speech–a seemingly dry speech–he could not understand why a wave of chuckles and murmurs would, from time to time, arise from the audience. It was not until he neared the end of his presentation that he glanced up at the screen projecting the bullet points of his speech behind him. And right there, right in that moment, he understood with perfect clarity why his speech had evoked the unexpected reaction from the crowd.
You see, if you omit the letter “L” from the word “public” it won’t be picked up by spell check. It will, however, be picked up by anyone else reading the slides as you deliver your speech on the “pubic option.”
This could very well be you at your next sales presentation...pissed and embarrassed because you overlooked your employee's failure to proofread his resume during the hiring process. So, check the candidates resume and cover letter for misspellings that spell check might have missed. In so doing you will make sure that you hire someone that's thorough and doesn't rely on spell check to do their job.
3. Preparedness
Personally, one of the first things I always do after an interviewee leaves is to ask every single person who came into contact with them what they thought. Why you might ask? You never know what little windows into your prospective employee this may provide.
For instance, once I asked one of our receptionists what they thought of a particular interviewee. I was very surprised to hear what she had to say. She said she thought the interviewee was pleasant but they did have some trouble with her when she first arrived. Of course I inquired as to why. It seems that upon arriving the prospective employee had no idea who she was interviewing with so the receptionist had to call around the office for ten minutes until she could figure out who to notify that their appointment had arrived. I have to say, I thought this displayed a lack of preparedness on the interviewee’s part, especially in consideration she was interviewing for a job that had primary scheduling responsibilities for me and would require her to know and keep track of all of our most important customers.
In another case, after a 45-minute interview the interviewee stood and said, “Mark, thanks for the second interview.” Big problem, my name is Matt. Nevertheless, I shrugged it off as perhaps I had misheard the applicant or maybe he had simply had a momentary lapse of reason. However, when I walked him to the door he proudly reiterated my name, “Mark, again thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.” Every fiber in my being yearned to reply, “Well, if I meet this Mark fellow I’ll be sure to have him call you.” I did not. I also did not call him back.
A candidate should know everything about you that they can find out and engage you on a level that you will enjoy and that moves you one step closer to offering them the job.
4. Phone and e-mail correspondence
Another thing that also gets overlooked is professionalism in e-mail and phone communications. I pay attention to the candidate's e-mail address and how they answer their personal phone.
Sure we all have private lives, but we all have to be professional in dealing with employers and, most importantly, prospective employers. As such, if their e-mail address is "bigsexy@gmail.com" or “hunkaburninlove@yahoo.com” think twice about hiring them. Gmail, Yahoo!, as well as other like companies have a great price point for new e-mail addresses: free! There's no excuse for not having a professional-looking e-mail address.
For me, an interview starts when I call you to set up the interview. Recently I called an applicant, they picked up the phone, and they must have been at a the reunion tour of Van Halen because all I could hear was “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout’ Love” blasting through my phone. I mean, it was so loud I could actually see people in my office starting to bob their heads to the tunes. After a few attempts shouting into the phone “Is [Name Omitted] there?” finally the music parted and I was able to hear once again. The heads stopped bobbing in my office and the person on the other end said “Speaking.” Ahhhh. Well, I know they love music...and that they lack judgement.
5. Honesty is over rated
Yes, you want your potential employee to answer questions truthfully, but answering too truthfully may also show a lack of judgement. For instance, I often ask the hypothetical question, "If you were hired and six months after you were hired another opportunity presents itself would you go on an interview for that opportunity?" You would be surprised at how many people say they would. Wrong answer!!
Let’s take one of my more infamous examples. Once I was asking a prospective employee to explain an 18-month gap in his employment history. To this day I remember his response verbatim. It went like this: "Man, the whole work thing ... ya' know... like, wow." I was left both mouth agape and speechless by the answer. Needless to say... He did not get the job.
The Trademark Company
Thursday, January 12, 2012
4 Steps to Creating a Great Place to Work
Some time ago we set out to create one of the greatest places to work in America. We borrowed workspace ideas from Google. The concept that everyone gets benefits from Starbucks. An open, collaborative environment from multiple software and computer gaming companies. And, above all, a zealous cultural dedication from the likes of Zappos. But along the way in creating our ideal place to work something would occasionally get in the way: us.
You see, when you strive to create a great place to work you can influence it and shape it so far. But ultimately there will come a time that you must step aside and let it grow on its own from the seeds you have sown.
For instance, early on we would shut down the main office at 4 p.m. on Fridays and break out some adult beverages to kick off the weekend. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and it became something that the whole office looked forward to at the end of the week. Initially, it was just our employees—bonding outside of the nine to five routine.
Soon, however, spouses, friends, and even entire families began showing up. Our initial reaction was that this metamorphosis would defeat the original purpose of the gatherings. Here we were shutting down early so that our people could bond and build relationships with one another and they were bringing in outsiders, people not employed by the company. Should we limit participation to only employees? Would this alienate those who attend? Or should we just let it naturally evolve and see what happens?
Ultimately we stepped back and let it evolve. What a great decision. Everyone loves our Friday happy hours that often stretch well into the evenings. Our people have bonded during these times not only with each other but with each other’s families and friends. In short, we created the concept but left it to our people to develop the culture that they wanted within that concept. We let go.
As a result, our culture, and by extension our company, is better than ever.
So how do you create a great place to work while letting go? Here are four essential steps to do so:
1. Figure out the type of workplace you want to create. What is important to you as you build your business? Dedication from employees? An enjoyable place to work? A collaborative atmosphere? Whatever the case, create your blueprint of what you want always allowing for tweaks along the way as the business grows.
2. Hire the right people that have a similar vision for the workplace. Sure, competency is a given. But hiring people who are great at what they do but do not fit within your vision for your growing business will not serve your ultimate goal. Spend a little more time in the hiring process and bring on only those who are not only great at what they do but who also share your vision for the future of the business.
3. Plant the seeds of your vision within your workforce. If you are trying to create and fun atmosphere set up happy hours, friendly competitions, celebrations of accomplishments, whatever. Allow for others to bring forth similar ideas and act on those ideas. In short, enable the workplace to become the place you envisioned it to be.
4. Most importantly, let go and get out of the way. A culture is organic and once in place it should be permitted to grow. If you have hired the right people you do not to control every aspect of the evolution of your workplace. Sure from time to time you should be there to help guide it along in a general sense. But if the office wants to dress up for Halloween and you typically do not, buy a costume. If the office wants to dress like your favorite royal for the wedding of William and Kate be ready to do so.
In short, once the blueprint is constructed and the right people brought on board you’ve got everything you need to create a great place to work. Now it’s time to let go.
The Trademark Company
You see, when you strive to create a great place to work you can influence it and shape it so far. But ultimately there will come a time that you must step aside and let it grow on its own from the seeds you have sown.
For instance, early on we would shut down the main office at 4 p.m. on Fridays and break out some adult beverages to kick off the weekend. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and it became something that the whole office looked forward to at the end of the week. Initially, it was just our employees—bonding outside of the nine to five routine.
Soon, however, spouses, friends, and even entire families began showing up. Our initial reaction was that this metamorphosis would defeat the original purpose of the gatherings. Here we were shutting down early so that our people could bond and build relationships with one another and they were bringing in outsiders, people not employed by the company. Should we limit participation to only employees? Would this alienate those who attend? Or should we just let it naturally evolve and see what happens?
Ultimately we stepped back and let it evolve. What a great decision. Everyone loves our Friday happy hours that often stretch well into the evenings. Our people have bonded during these times not only with each other but with each other’s families and friends. In short, we created the concept but left it to our people to develop the culture that they wanted within that concept. We let go.
As a result, our culture, and by extension our company, is better than ever.
So how do you create a great place to work while letting go? Here are four essential steps to do so:
1. Figure out the type of workplace you want to create. What is important to you as you build your business? Dedication from employees? An enjoyable place to work? A collaborative atmosphere? Whatever the case, create your blueprint of what you want always allowing for tweaks along the way as the business grows.
2. Hire the right people that have a similar vision for the workplace. Sure, competency is a given. But hiring people who are great at what they do but do not fit within your vision for your growing business will not serve your ultimate goal. Spend a little more time in the hiring process and bring on only those who are not only great at what they do but who also share your vision for the future of the business.
3. Plant the seeds of your vision within your workforce. If you are trying to create and fun atmosphere set up happy hours, friendly competitions, celebrations of accomplishments, whatever. Allow for others to bring forth similar ideas and act on those ideas. In short, enable the workplace to become the place you envisioned it to be.
4. Most importantly, let go and get out of the way. A culture is organic and once in place it should be permitted to grow. If you have hired the right people you do not to control every aspect of the evolution of your workplace. Sure from time to time you should be there to help guide it along in a general sense. But if the office wants to dress up for Halloween and you typically do not, buy a costume. If the office wants to dress like your favorite royal for the wedding of William and Kate be ready to do so.
In short, once the blueprint is constructed and the right people brought on board you’ve got everything you need to create a great place to work. Now it’s time to let go.
The Trademark Company
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
4 Steps to Knock Out Work-Place Stress
by Matthew H. Swyers as Posted on Inc.com
I am always amazed at how many people stress out over seemingly manageable deadlines at work. Back in the day when I was an attorney with a law firm in Washington, D.C. associates would come in my office riddled with concern over some legal brief to which they had to respond.
Without hesitation I would always smile and ask them how long they thought it would take to write the response. Almost without exception they would respond it would take four to five hours to complete.
I would then ask when the brief was due. Typically the answer was in about five days.
“So”, I would reply, “You need to find four to five hours in the next 120 hours to complete this assignment.” Their brow line would begin to soften. “Huh?” was often the response I would get from some of our finest legal eagles. I would repeat myself this time slightly raising my eyebrows to connote an “Are you getting this?” look.
“You need to find five hours in the next 120 hours to complete this assignment.” The response would begin: “Well, when you put it that way…” I would reply: “What other way would the time-space continuum have me put it?” The tension would ease. The air would soften. And you could actually watch them physically begin to relax.
We are often faced with matters which induce the reaction known as stress, especially in the workplace. Perhaps the single largest cause of stress in the workplace is the imposition of significant work obligations coupled with perceived unrealistic deadlines. But irrespective of the burdens imposed upon you, stress, in and of itself, can impose an even greater burden upon your productivity and actually adversely affect your ability to accomplish your assigned tasks.
To be effective you must teach yourself to live with stress. You must teach yourself to embrace the situation, move beyond your trepidations, and get the job done. Here are four steps you can take today to knock out work-place stress:
1. Remember, the Glass is Half Full: If there is anything that the last few years has taught us it is not to take employment for granted. That is not to say that you should be happy to be in an abusive atmosphere. But for every project you get you can either look at it as yet another thing heaped upon your plate or a blessing that there is work to be had. Think about it, would you rather things be so slow you are sitting at your desk twiddling your thumbs waiting for your business to fail or would you prefer that business is thriving and everyone is getting lots of work. In this economy try looking at assignments as a good thing, as the glass being half full. So the next time an assignment is handed to you do not stress out because of the increased amount of work, be thankful there is work to be had in your company and get on with it.
2. Compartmentalize: Learn to compartmentalize your assignments. Looking at everything you have on your plate can induce stress, diminish focus, lead to lower productivity, and ultimately – in, a vicious circle, induce greater stress. Focusing on what you have to do right now can reduce those levels of concern. Set realistic daily goals for that which you need to do and then only focus on getting those goals accomplished. By focusing on a smaller subset of the larger picture you will derive a sense of accomplishment from your those goals being met that, in turn, will allow you to focus more on those daily tasks reducing the overall tasks on your plate which will lead to reduced overall stress levels.
3. Compute and Communicate: Stress is also caused by concerns imposed by an unrealistic goal. Like my example above, however, such stress is often misplaced. When you are assigned a new task that induces stress because of a perceived unrealistic deadline stop and take a minute to really think it through. How much time do you estimate it will take to complete the task? How much time is there before the deadline? Is there enough time before the deadline to complete the task and those other items on your desk? You would be surprised at how often this simple exercise can lead to a direct reduction in your stress level. Rather than assuming it is going to be impossible to achieve this goal actually determine if it will be. If it is attainable congratulations, you have just reduced your stress level.
But what if after conducting this analysis you are convinced it cannot be accomplished? In a word, communicate. Stress can also be caused by bottling up your fears of failing at a task in which failure is assured. When that occurs, communicate to the person assigning the task that it likely cannot be accomplished in the parameters given and offer a candid, non-confrontational or judgmental explanation as to why. Once out in the open a solution may be presented.
4. Accept the Inevitable: Understand that whatever is going to happen is going to happen. The project is going to get done, it may not. The assignment will be completed within the given parameters, or it will not. But whatever the outcome, there is an end in sight. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And no matter what that light is, at some point the stress you are experiencing, the task you have been assigned, the project you are working on, will be done. And all that will remain of the same is the recognition that you either did, or did not, get it done. But it will be over. And knowing that the matter causing your stress is finite is powerful medicine to fight the stress, to sooth your nerves. You will get through this, one way or another, and that realization in and of itself will help you soldier on and fight back whatever nerves still remain.
I am always amazed at how many people stress out over seemingly manageable deadlines at work. Back in the day when I was an attorney with a law firm in Washington, D.C. associates would come in my office riddled with concern over some legal brief to which they had to respond.
Without hesitation I would always smile and ask them how long they thought it would take to write the response. Almost without exception they would respond it would take four to five hours to complete.
I would then ask when the brief was due. Typically the answer was in about five days.
“So”, I would reply, “You need to find four to five hours in the next 120 hours to complete this assignment.” Their brow line would begin to soften. “Huh?” was often the response I would get from some of our finest legal eagles. I would repeat myself this time slightly raising my eyebrows to connote an “Are you getting this?” look.
“You need to find five hours in the next 120 hours to complete this assignment.” The response would begin: “Well, when you put it that way…” I would reply: “What other way would the time-space continuum have me put it?” The tension would ease. The air would soften. And you could actually watch them physically begin to relax.
We are often faced with matters which induce the reaction known as stress, especially in the workplace. Perhaps the single largest cause of stress in the workplace is the imposition of significant work obligations coupled with perceived unrealistic deadlines. But irrespective of the burdens imposed upon you, stress, in and of itself, can impose an even greater burden upon your productivity and actually adversely affect your ability to accomplish your assigned tasks.
To be effective you must teach yourself to live with stress. You must teach yourself to embrace the situation, move beyond your trepidations, and get the job done. Here are four steps you can take today to knock out work-place stress:
1. Remember, the Glass is Half Full: If there is anything that the last few years has taught us it is not to take employment for granted. That is not to say that you should be happy to be in an abusive atmosphere. But for every project you get you can either look at it as yet another thing heaped upon your plate or a blessing that there is work to be had. Think about it, would you rather things be so slow you are sitting at your desk twiddling your thumbs waiting for your business to fail or would you prefer that business is thriving and everyone is getting lots of work. In this economy try looking at assignments as a good thing, as the glass being half full. So the next time an assignment is handed to you do not stress out because of the increased amount of work, be thankful there is work to be had in your company and get on with it.
2. Compartmentalize: Learn to compartmentalize your assignments. Looking at everything you have on your plate can induce stress, diminish focus, lead to lower productivity, and ultimately – in, a vicious circle, induce greater stress. Focusing on what you have to do right now can reduce those levels of concern. Set realistic daily goals for that which you need to do and then only focus on getting those goals accomplished. By focusing on a smaller subset of the larger picture you will derive a sense of accomplishment from your those goals being met that, in turn, will allow you to focus more on those daily tasks reducing the overall tasks on your plate which will lead to reduced overall stress levels.
3. Compute and Communicate: Stress is also caused by concerns imposed by an unrealistic goal. Like my example above, however, such stress is often misplaced. When you are assigned a new task that induces stress because of a perceived unrealistic deadline stop and take a minute to really think it through. How much time do you estimate it will take to complete the task? How much time is there before the deadline? Is there enough time before the deadline to complete the task and those other items on your desk? You would be surprised at how often this simple exercise can lead to a direct reduction in your stress level. Rather than assuming it is going to be impossible to achieve this goal actually determine if it will be. If it is attainable congratulations, you have just reduced your stress level.
But what if after conducting this analysis you are convinced it cannot be accomplished? In a word, communicate. Stress can also be caused by bottling up your fears of failing at a task in which failure is assured. When that occurs, communicate to the person assigning the task that it likely cannot be accomplished in the parameters given and offer a candid, non-confrontational or judgmental explanation as to why. Once out in the open a solution may be presented.
4. Accept the Inevitable: Understand that whatever is going to happen is going to happen. The project is going to get done, it may not. The assignment will be completed within the given parameters, or it will not. But whatever the outcome, there is an end in sight. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And no matter what that light is, at some point the stress you are experiencing, the task you have been assigned, the project you are working on, will be done. And all that will remain of the same is the recognition that you either did, or did not, get it done. But it will be over. And knowing that the matter causing your stress is finite is powerful medicine to fight the stress, to sooth your nerves. You will get through this, one way or another, and that realization in and of itself will help you soldier on and fight back whatever nerves still remain.
Monday, January 9, 2012
3 Reasons Why You Should Perform a Trademark Clearance Search for Your Trademarks
We are often asked by our prospective customers why should I perform a trademark clearance report? Our answers are always the same. Here are the top 3 reasons why we feel you should always conduct Trademark Research in the form of a Trademark Clearance Report prior to adopting and beginning use of your new trademark.
1. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) Filing Fees Are Non-Refundable
First and foremost filing fees paid to the USPTO are non-refundable. In other words, if you file for your mark and your mark is ultimately block based upon a likelihood of confusion with an existing mark you have forfeited the cost of your filing fees paid to the USPTO in the filing of your Trademark Application.
A trademark clearance report, even one as simple as a Basic Federal Database Search which costs a fraction of what it costs to file for protection of a trademark with the USPTO, is often a cost-effective method to evaluate whether your mark is clear to be registered and, if so, whether you should proceed forward with filing for the Trademark Registration or decide upon another mark if the same is not available.
2. Don’t Develop a Brand You May Be Forced to Give Up
Second, a Comprehensive U.S. Trademark Research Report – one that includes a search of not only the USPTO’s databases but also state trademark and corporate databases – will not only let you know if your trademark is clear to registered but also whether you are likely to infringe upon another’s use of an already-existing trademark whether it be filed with the USPTO or not.
Note, trademarks are not required to be registered with the USPTO to be afforded protection state and federal protection. Rights to trademarks can be acquired merely by use thereof or what is generally referred to as at common law.
So imagine the scenario, you are a California restaurateur. You come up with what you think is a unique name, let’s say Suntopia. You open your first restaurant in Los Angeles. Since you came up with the name you figure it must be available so no research report is performed. Business is great. You open a second location in Palm Springs and later a third in Las Vegas. You register the trademark with the USPTO and life is good. A few years go by and you are now famous. Your restaurants are the toast of the town. You routinely appear on the Jay Leno show as a celebrity guest chef. And then one day you get a letter from a law firm in Florida. The letter reads “Dear so in so ... our client has been using the mark Suntopia in connection with a chain of restaurants in the States of Florida and Georgia for over twenty years. We demand you immediately change your name. P.S. Loved you on Leno. The pesto-encrusted sea bass was great.”
You’re crushed. How could this be? You came up with the mark in a dream sequence fit for a Hollywood film. This must be your trademark.
Sadly who wins? More likely than not the Flori-Georgians. Who looses? You do. What happens to the years of blood sweat and tears building your brand Suntopia? Gone. And to think, all of this could have been resolved if only you would have spent a few dollars up front and had a trademark clearance report performed. Then you would have known to come up with another mark instead of spending years of your life and countless resources building up another’s pre-existing brand.
After all, as most practitioners and entrepreneurs know alike, it is the enterprise that creates the brand. The brand does not create the enterprise.
3. Having a Trademark Clearance Report Performed Is Evidence of Your Reasonableness in Adopting a Trademark
Third, did you know that should you ever get sued for trademark infringement the fact that you had a clearance report issued which cleared the adoption and use of your mark may be used as evidence in that case as evidence of your reasonableness in adopting the mark.
Trademark litigation counsel love it when an accused infringer did not perform a trademark clearance report. In the hands of a skilled lawyer this can be manipulated into showing a callous disregard as to the existing trademark rights of others by the purported infringing defendant.
But if you have a trademark clearance report performed, and if that report “clears” use of your mark, the opposite may be true. Should you ever be sued over the use of the trademark your lawyer can mount a defense on the reasonableness of your selection of the mark backed by objective evidence at or before the critical point of adoption of the mark: your trademark clearance report.
Conclusion
So whenever considering the adoption of a new trademark, be you a small start-up business or a multinational corporation rolling out new product after new product, remember to always have a trademark clearance report performed before you begin use of your mark. It is well worth the investment.
The Trademark Company
1. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) Filing Fees Are Non-Refundable
First and foremost filing fees paid to the USPTO are non-refundable. In other words, if you file for your mark and your mark is ultimately block based upon a likelihood of confusion with an existing mark you have forfeited the cost of your filing fees paid to the USPTO in the filing of your Trademark Application.
A trademark clearance report, even one as simple as a Basic Federal Database Search which costs a fraction of what it costs to file for protection of a trademark with the USPTO, is often a cost-effective method to evaluate whether your mark is clear to be registered and, if so, whether you should proceed forward with filing for the Trademark Registration or decide upon another mark if the same is not available.
2. Don’t Develop a Brand You May Be Forced to Give Up
Second, a Comprehensive U.S. Trademark Research Report – one that includes a search of not only the USPTO’s databases but also state trademark and corporate databases – will not only let you know if your trademark is clear to registered but also whether you are likely to infringe upon another’s use of an already-existing trademark whether it be filed with the USPTO or not.
Note, trademarks are not required to be registered with the USPTO to be afforded protection state and federal protection. Rights to trademarks can be acquired merely by use thereof or what is generally referred to as at common law.
So imagine the scenario, you are a California restaurateur. You come up with what you think is a unique name, let’s say Suntopia. You open your first restaurant in Los Angeles. Since you came up with the name you figure it must be available so no research report is performed. Business is great. You open a second location in Palm Springs and later a third in Las Vegas. You register the trademark with the USPTO and life is good. A few years go by and you are now famous. Your restaurants are the toast of the town. You routinely appear on the Jay Leno show as a celebrity guest chef. And then one day you get a letter from a law firm in Florida. The letter reads “Dear so in so ... our client has been using the mark Suntopia in connection with a chain of restaurants in the States of Florida and Georgia for over twenty years. We demand you immediately change your name. P.S. Loved you on Leno. The pesto-encrusted sea bass was great.”
You’re crushed. How could this be? You came up with the mark in a dream sequence fit for a Hollywood film. This must be your trademark.
Sadly who wins? More likely than not the Flori-Georgians. Who looses? You do. What happens to the years of blood sweat and tears building your brand Suntopia? Gone. And to think, all of this could have been resolved if only you would have spent a few dollars up front and had a trademark clearance report performed. Then you would have known to come up with another mark instead of spending years of your life and countless resources building up another’s pre-existing brand.
After all, as most practitioners and entrepreneurs know alike, it is the enterprise that creates the brand. The brand does not create the enterprise.
3. Having a Trademark Clearance Report Performed Is Evidence of Your Reasonableness in Adopting a Trademark
Third, did you know that should you ever get sued for trademark infringement the fact that you had a clearance report issued which cleared the adoption and use of your mark may be used as evidence in that case as evidence of your reasonableness in adopting the mark.
Trademark litigation counsel love it when an accused infringer did not perform a trademark clearance report. In the hands of a skilled lawyer this can be manipulated into showing a callous disregard as to the existing trademark rights of others by the purported infringing defendant.
But if you have a trademark clearance report performed, and if that report “clears” use of your mark, the opposite may be true. Should you ever be sued over the use of the trademark your lawyer can mount a defense on the reasonableness of your selection of the mark backed by objective evidence at or before the critical point of adoption of the mark: your trademark clearance report.
Conclusion
So whenever considering the adoption of a new trademark, be you a small start-up business or a multinational corporation rolling out new product after new product, remember to always have a trademark clearance report performed before you begin use of your mark. It is well worth the investment.
The Trademark Company
Friday, January 6, 2012
IP Law 101: What a Start-Up Needs to Know About the 3 Types of IP Rights
We are often asked do I need a trademark for my slogan? Can I patent my idea? How can I protect my website from copying by others? Here’s a quick rundown of the various protections every business should be aware of in protecting their intellectual property.
Trademarks
A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods or services of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name. It can be your company’s name (e.g., NIKE) or its main advertising slogan (e.g., JUST DO IT). No matter what you wish to use as a source identifier of your goods or services it should be Registered, if possible, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to maximize the protection available under The Trademark Act of 1946. Trademarks can last forever so long as they are Renewed as required by the USPTO.
Patents
A patent is a grant of property rights by the U.S. Government through the USPTO. The patent grant excludes others from making, using, or selling an invention in the United States that receives patent protection (e.g., a new and innovative design for a tooth brush, mechanical part, or otherwise). Patents, unlike trademarks, are subject to limits lives. For instance, a utility or plant patent in force on June 8, 1995, is subject to either the 17 year term from grant or the 20 year term from earliest effective U.S. filing date, whichever is longer. A design patent term is 14 years from patent grant.
Copyrights
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. Copyrightable works include the following categories:
1. Literary Works (e.g., books, articles)
2. Musical Works, including any accompanying words (e.g., music, lyrics)
3. Dramatic Works, including any accompanying music (e.g., plays, screen
plays,scripts)
4. Pantomimes and Choreographic Works (e.g., dance routines)
5. Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Works (e.g., works of art, statutes, AND
web sites)
6. Motion Pictures and other Audiovisual Works (e.g., movies, television
broadcasts)
7. Sound Recordings (e.g., albums, CDs, etc.)
8. Architectural Works (e.g., building designs and plans)
As always, if you have any questions about these or any other matters just Contact Us or post your questions or comments right here on our blog.
The Trademark Company
Trademarks
A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods or services of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name. It can be your company’s name (e.g., NIKE) or its main advertising slogan (e.g., JUST DO IT). No matter what you wish to use as a source identifier of your goods or services it should be Registered, if possible, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to maximize the protection available under The Trademark Act of 1946. Trademarks can last forever so long as they are Renewed as required by the USPTO.
Patents
A patent is a grant of property rights by the U.S. Government through the USPTO. The patent grant excludes others from making, using, or selling an invention in the United States that receives patent protection (e.g., a new and innovative design for a tooth brush, mechanical part, or otherwise). Patents, unlike trademarks, are subject to limits lives. For instance, a utility or plant patent in force on June 8, 1995, is subject to either the 17 year term from grant or the 20 year term from earliest effective U.S. filing date, whichever is longer. A design patent term is 14 years from patent grant.
Copyrights
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. Copyrightable works include the following categories:
1. Literary Works (e.g., books, articles)
2. Musical Works, including any accompanying words (e.g., music, lyrics)
3. Dramatic Works, including any accompanying music (e.g., plays, screen
plays,scripts)
4. Pantomimes and Choreographic Works (e.g., dance routines)
5. Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Works (e.g., works of art, statutes, AND
web sites)
6. Motion Pictures and other Audiovisual Works (e.g., movies, television
broadcasts)
7. Sound Recordings (e.g., albums, CDs, etc.)
8. Architectural Works (e.g., building designs and plans)
As always, if you have any questions about these or any other matters just Contact Us or post your questions or comments right here on our blog.
The Trademark Company
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Get a Google Pay-Per-Click Monopoly for Your Brand
As Published on Inc.com January 5, 2012.
Did you know that Google is every bit as concerned as you are that some other company may infringe upon their company’s trademark? What is infringement and why should I care, you may ask.
Trademark infringement, at its core, is when one party adopts a trademarhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifk that is confusingly similar to the trademark of another. They do this because, in essence, they want to create confusion in the marketplace among consumers so they can steal customers from the original trademark holder.
Infringement takes many forms. In the good old days it may simply have been opening up a brick and mortar store front with a name for the store that was confusingly similar to an established brand. Who doesn’t recall the restaurant McDougal’s from the movie Coming to America and its shockingly similar appearance to the iconic McDonald’s brand. A perfect example of infringement to its core.
But in today’s increasingly global economy brands face new challenges as infringers have moved online. Most people are familiar with what has become known as cybersquatting, where some unscrupulous person registers a domain name that is similar to another’s established trademark rights. Squatters may sell competing products from a site posted to that domain or merely use the domain as an automatic redirect to the other’s competing web site. But there are far more subtle ways people can infringe upon your brand online that, when spotted, must be handled swiftly.
One such form of infringement is by bidding on your brands or trademarks as keywords in pay-per-click advertising.
As the readers of this article may or may not know, Google and the other search engines derive revenue by and through their pay-per-click advertising programs. When you search for a term your search results will bring up both organic (e.g., results the search engine deems to be the most relevant to your search terms via a secret algorithm each search engine respectively employs) as well as sponsored (e.g., results that are paid advertising typically appearing above and to the left of the organic returns) results.
Sponsored results and the ads that appear therewith are returned because the persons or companies who place the ads bid on specific keywords that, when searched, display those sponsored results as well as the organic as referenced above.
Returning to our discussion on modern-day infringement, today one well-recognized form of infringement occurs against your brand when a competitor of yours bids on your trademark as a pay-per-click keyword such that when consumers search for your goods or services online your competitor’s advertisements will appear in the sponsored results.
For instance, and this is just a hypothetical for the purposes of this article, let’s say Pepsi wants to drive potential customers to its web site every time someone searches for Coca Cola. What they could do is open a pay-per-click account with Google or another search engine and bid on the keywords “Coca Cola.” Then every time a consumer searches on that search engine for “Coca Cola” Pepsi’s ad would appear in the sponsored results.
Well, fortunately for trademark holders, this is against the law insofar as it creates a form of infringement known generally as initial interest confusion. What can you do to stop it and protect your brand online? Simply follow three steps to create a Google pay-per-click monopoly for your brand:
1. Assemble a list of your trademarks
Depending upon the size of your organization, this may be as simple as your company’s name or as complex as the name and multiple trademarks used to identify your company’s various goods, services, and advertising campaigns.
2. Registered and unregistered trademarks
In assembling the list of your trademarks, determine which are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and which are not. For those that are registered it is highly recommended that you have their registration number available. For those that are not, it is advisable to get an application on file to protect the same prior to the next step as Google is more likely to respect your trademark rights if you retain an application or registration number from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
3. General complaint
File a general trademark complaint with Google using Google Adwords Trademark Complain Form. Google will then investigate your claimed rights in the trademarks submitted and, if such is able to be verified, will then preclude others from bidding on your trademarks in pay-per-click advertising and diverting your customers away from your web site using your own trademarks against you.
So go online and get that Google pay-per-click monopoly for your brands. It’s just that simple.
The Trademark Company
Did you know that Google is every bit as concerned as you are that some other company may infringe upon their company’s trademark? What is infringement and why should I care, you may ask.
Trademark infringement, at its core, is when one party adopts a trademarhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifk that is confusingly similar to the trademark of another. They do this because, in essence, they want to create confusion in the marketplace among consumers so they can steal customers from the original trademark holder.
Infringement takes many forms. In the good old days it may simply have been opening up a brick and mortar store front with a name for the store that was confusingly similar to an established brand. Who doesn’t recall the restaurant McDougal’s from the movie Coming to America and its shockingly similar appearance to the iconic McDonald’s brand. A perfect example of infringement to its core.
But in today’s increasingly global economy brands face new challenges as infringers have moved online. Most people are familiar with what has become known as cybersquatting, where some unscrupulous person registers a domain name that is similar to another’s established trademark rights. Squatters may sell competing products from a site posted to that domain or merely use the domain as an automatic redirect to the other’s competing web site. But there are far more subtle ways people can infringe upon your brand online that, when spotted, must be handled swiftly.
One such form of infringement is by bidding on your brands or trademarks as keywords in pay-per-click advertising.
As the readers of this article may or may not know, Google and the other search engines derive revenue by and through their pay-per-click advertising programs. When you search for a term your search results will bring up both organic (e.g., results the search engine deems to be the most relevant to your search terms via a secret algorithm each search engine respectively employs) as well as sponsored (e.g., results that are paid advertising typically appearing above and to the left of the organic returns) results.
Sponsored results and the ads that appear therewith are returned because the persons or companies who place the ads bid on specific keywords that, when searched, display those sponsored results as well as the organic as referenced above.
Returning to our discussion on modern-day infringement, today one well-recognized form of infringement occurs against your brand when a competitor of yours bids on your trademark as a pay-per-click keyword such that when consumers search for your goods or services online your competitor’s advertisements will appear in the sponsored results.
For instance, and this is just a hypothetical for the purposes of this article, let’s say Pepsi wants to drive potential customers to its web site every time someone searches for Coca Cola. What they could do is open a pay-per-click account with Google or another search engine and bid on the keywords “Coca Cola.” Then every time a consumer searches on that search engine for “Coca Cola” Pepsi’s ad would appear in the sponsored results.
Well, fortunately for trademark holders, this is against the law insofar as it creates a form of infringement known generally as initial interest confusion. What can you do to stop it and protect your brand online? Simply follow three steps to create a Google pay-per-click monopoly for your brand:
1. Assemble a list of your trademarks
Depending upon the size of your organization, this may be as simple as your company’s name or as complex as the name and multiple trademarks used to identify your company’s various goods, services, and advertising campaigns.
2. Registered and unregistered trademarks
In assembling the list of your trademarks, determine which are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and which are not. For those that are registered it is highly recommended that you have their registration number available. For those that are not, it is advisable to get an application on file to protect the same prior to the next step as Google is more likely to respect your trademark rights if you retain an application or registration number from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
3. General complaint
File a general trademark complaint with Google using Google Adwords Trademark Complain Form. Google will then investigate your claimed rights in the trademarks submitted and, if such is able to be verified, will then preclude others from bidding on your trademarks in pay-per-click advertising and diverting your customers away from your web site using your own trademarks against you.
So go online and get that Google pay-per-click monopoly for your brands. It’s just that simple.
The Trademark Company
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
When To Enforce Your Trademarks: Think Before you Act.
One of the trickiest questions we get here at The Trademark Company is the question of when should a business enforce its trademark(s) against a likely infringer? The answer, we believe, is a mix of business considerations balanced against legal principals. In short, here’s what you need to know.
The law says that if you do not enforce your marks against all infringement thereof you, to some degree, loose the right to do so in the future. The is primarily due to the interplay of two doctrines of law: acquiescence and laches.
Acquiescence occurs when you generally allow others to use marks similar to yours but do not enforce your rights against them. Then, if you subsequently try to enforce your mark against someone else they can claim that you have acquiesced to their use by not enforcing your mark against all. In short, enforce against all or against none.
Laches is an equitable defense that, in short, means you cannot wait to enforce your mark against a specific individual for an unreasonable period of time. Because they will rely on your not enforcing your mark against them as a license to continue using and building their mark the law says it is not fair to do so at a later date. In short, enforce it as soon as you know about the bad guy or your delay will give rise to this defense against your claims.
So the law says enforce it now or you will not be able to later. But what about business considerations? Does this mean you have to spend every last dime defending a brand you are only beginning to build? This is the toughest question of all.
On one hand, the law says you must. On the other, what’s the point of building a business if the lawyers take all the profit in enforcing your trademarks?
Well, hopefully we can provide some guidance. Although the law say enforce now we often advise our clients to take that with a grain of salt. Enforce them where it makes business sense to do so but not where it does not.
For example, one of our California clients experienced significant diminished sales (roughly 50% loss of sales per month) of its product sold exclusively online when one of their competitors started knocking off their brand. In that regard, they were loosing, let’s say $50 per month. Enforcement would cost them $40. But then in one month’s time they would be gaining back their full sales easily making enough to cover the cost of litigation and enforcement. That was a clear case for a need to enforce a mark.
In the alternative, one of our clients discovered a small mom and pop store using their name in a local community which in no way affected the sales of our larger client. Should they enforce? With no lost sales and a very tenuous argument as to whether actual confusion would really result we were hard-pressed to say that they should.
So against the legal context from above we always ask our clients one simple question: Does it Make Good Business Sense to Enforce the Mark? In time is the cost of enforcement going to be covered by the benefits of enforcement, both tangible (e.g., recoupment of lost sales) and intangible (e.g., the continued ability to enforce one’s trademark without fear of the defenses of acquiescence and laches)?
If yes, enforce it! If no, simply consider keeping an eye on the purported infringer to make sure that loss from their use never materializes.
Above all, however, make a good business decision even if tempered by an understanding of the law in play in doing so.
The Trademark Company
The law says that if you do not enforce your marks against all infringement thereof you, to some degree, loose the right to do so in the future. The is primarily due to the interplay of two doctrines of law: acquiescence and laches.
Acquiescence occurs when you generally allow others to use marks similar to yours but do not enforce your rights against them. Then, if you subsequently try to enforce your mark against someone else they can claim that you have acquiesced to their use by not enforcing your mark against all. In short, enforce against all or against none.
Laches is an equitable defense that, in short, means you cannot wait to enforce your mark against a specific individual for an unreasonable period of time. Because they will rely on your not enforcing your mark against them as a license to continue using and building their mark the law says it is not fair to do so at a later date. In short, enforce it as soon as you know about the bad guy or your delay will give rise to this defense against your claims.
So the law says enforce it now or you will not be able to later. But what about business considerations? Does this mean you have to spend every last dime defending a brand you are only beginning to build? This is the toughest question of all.
On one hand, the law says you must. On the other, what’s the point of building a business if the lawyers take all the profit in enforcing your trademarks?
Well, hopefully we can provide some guidance. Although the law say enforce now we often advise our clients to take that with a grain of salt. Enforce them where it makes business sense to do so but not where it does not.
For example, one of our California clients experienced significant diminished sales (roughly 50% loss of sales per month) of its product sold exclusively online when one of their competitors started knocking off their brand. In that regard, they were loosing, let’s say $50 per month. Enforcement would cost them $40. But then in one month’s time they would be gaining back their full sales easily making enough to cover the cost of litigation and enforcement. That was a clear case for a need to enforce a mark.
In the alternative, one of our clients discovered a small mom and pop store using their name in a local community which in no way affected the sales of our larger client. Should they enforce? With no lost sales and a very tenuous argument as to whether actual confusion would really result we were hard-pressed to say that they should.
So against the legal context from above we always ask our clients one simple question: Does it Make Good Business Sense to Enforce the Mark? In time is the cost of enforcement going to be covered by the benefits of enforcement, both tangible (e.g., recoupment of lost sales) and intangible (e.g., the continued ability to enforce one’s trademark without fear of the defenses of acquiescence and laches)?
If yes, enforce it! If no, simply consider keeping an eye on the purported infringer to make sure that loss from their use never materializes.
Above all, however, make a good business decision even if tempered by an understanding of the law in play in doing so.
The Trademark Company
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Lesson from the U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS) can trace its roots back to 1775 when Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general. The mission of the USPS was then, and in large part remains, to provide the American public with trusted universal postal service at affordable prices.
But a few things have changed since 1775 here in the U.S. In 1775 the primary means of communication was by and through writings on paper. The country needed a reliable service to get messages from one point to another to serve the greater good. But with the invention of the telephone circa 1876 and, more recently, the Internet and related electronic mail service our need to physically write things down on a piece of paper and to have it delivered to another to communicate has been greatly diminished if not virtually eradicated. Add in competitive forces from private parcel services such as UPS and FedEx and, in the absence of an evolving mission, the USPS has effectively rendered itself moot.
As proof of the point in recent years the USPS has fallen upon hard times. On December 5, 2011 the USPS announced it would close more than half of its mail processing centers, eliminate 28,000 jobs and end overnight delivery of first-class mail. Now, some of these cut backs have been scaled back or put on hold, but in the absence of an evolving mission and recognition of those competitive forces the USPS will not be able to right the ship and will soon become a relic of our country’s past.
So what can you learn from the USPS’s struggles? Here is the lesson I have taken away that is applicable to every business.
The Marketplace is Evolving Around You: Your Business Must Evolve With It
In 1775, aside from face-to-face meetings, the primary means of communicating with one another was to send a letter. Thus the original mission of the USPS fit nicely within this market: to provide the American public with trusted universal postal service at affordable prices. By the late 1800s the landscape of communications was changing with the increasing popularity of the telephone. Our ability to communicate with one another was evolving and moving away from the written word. Still, the USPS’s mission remained unchanged.
By the 1970s the modern pre-cursors to today’s facsimile machines were being perfected such that by the 1980s almost all businesses and many homes began relying on the same to transmit papers and documents outside of traditional mail. Still, the USPS’s mission remained unchanged.
Finally, the 1990s ushered in the technological wave that may ultimately prove to be the last straw on the USPS’s already strained back: the Internet. Now with electronic mail moving through cyberspace at the blink of an eye and texting becoming an ever-increasing component of our society today’s younger generations cannot even comprehend waiting for the proverbial mail to arrive. Still, the USPS’s mission has remained unchanged.
Why is this so important? In understanding and evaluating the struggles of one business we can use these lessons learned to avoid similar consequences in our own.
So where could the USPS have changed course to avoid its current path? Perhaps the USPS would have invested in secure transmission of facsimiles offering better facsimile services than others through the 1980s. When the 1990s rolled around instead of mailboxes on every corner combined e-mail kiosks / mailboxes could have been rolled out leveraging the power of communication all the while being true to the original intent of their mission. Almost everyone has a gmail.com or yahoo.com email account. Why did they not provide the most secure free e-mail accounts available to the general public maintaining a living and breathing version of that original mission?
Why? They did not evolve as communication technology evolved around them. So what is the take away from this brief study? How does it apply to your business?
Your business must evolve. Keep your finger on the pulse of your marketplace to know where it is headed and how your business must adapt to meet the ever changing needs of your customers. If you can, your business will continue to flourish. If you cannot, well, that message has already been delivered by the USPS.
The Trademark Company
But a few things have changed since 1775 here in the U.S. In 1775 the primary means of communication was by and through writings on paper. The country needed a reliable service to get messages from one point to another to serve the greater good. But with the invention of the telephone circa 1876 and, more recently, the Internet and related electronic mail service our need to physically write things down on a piece of paper and to have it delivered to another to communicate has been greatly diminished if not virtually eradicated. Add in competitive forces from private parcel services such as UPS and FedEx and, in the absence of an evolving mission, the USPS has effectively rendered itself moot.
As proof of the point in recent years the USPS has fallen upon hard times. On December 5, 2011 the USPS announced it would close more than half of its mail processing centers, eliminate 28,000 jobs and end overnight delivery of first-class mail. Now, some of these cut backs have been scaled back or put on hold, but in the absence of an evolving mission and recognition of those competitive forces the USPS will not be able to right the ship and will soon become a relic of our country’s past.
So what can you learn from the USPS’s struggles? Here is the lesson I have taken away that is applicable to every business.
The Marketplace is Evolving Around You: Your Business Must Evolve With It
In 1775, aside from face-to-face meetings, the primary means of communicating with one another was to send a letter. Thus the original mission of the USPS fit nicely within this market: to provide the American public with trusted universal postal service at affordable prices. By the late 1800s the landscape of communications was changing with the increasing popularity of the telephone. Our ability to communicate with one another was evolving and moving away from the written word. Still, the USPS’s mission remained unchanged.
By the 1970s the modern pre-cursors to today’s facsimile machines were being perfected such that by the 1980s almost all businesses and many homes began relying on the same to transmit papers and documents outside of traditional mail. Still, the USPS’s mission remained unchanged.
Finally, the 1990s ushered in the technological wave that may ultimately prove to be the last straw on the USPS’s already strained back: the Internet. Now with electronic mail moving through cyberspace at the blink of an eye and texting becoming an ever-increasing component of our society today’s younger generations cannot even comprehend waiting for the proverbial mail to arrive. Still, the USPS’s mission has remained unchanged.
Why is this so important? In understanding and evaluating the struggles of one business we can use these lessons learned to avoid similar consequences in our own.
So where could the USPS have changed course to avoid its current path? Perhaps the USPS would have invested in secure transmission of facsimiles offering better facsimile services than others through the 1980s. When the 1990s rolled around instead of mailboxes on every corner combined e-mail kiosks / mailboxes could have been rolled out leveraging the power of communication all the while being true to the original intent of their mission. Almost everyone has a gmail.com or yahoo.com email account. Why did they not provide the most secure free e-mail accounts available to the general public maintaining a living and breathing version of that original mission?
Why? They did not evolve as communication technology evolved around them. So what is the take away from this brief study? How does it apply to your business?
Your business must evolve. Keep your finger on the pulse of your marketplace to know where it is headed and how your business must adapt to meet the ever changing needs of your customers. If you can, your business will continue to flourish. If you cannot, well, that message has already been delivered by the USPS.
The Trademark Company
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