Comments on: A North Face By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet….

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nose huggie review — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 07:56:58 +0000

The other option is do get on the secretary of state website for each state and do the search yourself for free. It isn’t hard to do, just time-consuming.

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By: Jim Wilson

Jim Wilson — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:33:39 +0000

There is a cheaper way to establish limited trademark protection and let the world know that you are claiming trademark rights, file for a registration in the state where you are operating. All fifty states register trademarks. This creates a public record of your claim of first use, gives you protection in the state where you first operate, and is usually, depending on the state, faster and much cheaper than the USPTO. From there you can move forward with a federal mark as you venture across state lines and have the money and time to get the application processed.

By: Jessica Eaves Mathews

Jessica Eaves Mathews — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:50:46 +0000

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Ray, if you have a e-commerce website, then you are in essence selling on a national (and possibly international) level.

I can’t give you legal advice in this forum, as you know, but in order to protect yourself from some of the issues outlined in my post, conducting a 50-state search of trademarks would be wise (states have their own databases for trademarks that are separate from the US Patent and Trademark Office database). There are services that will do a 50-state search (or even a comprehensive national or international search) for you for a fee. I would think that paying for such a search could be the best money you will spend in the effort to protect your brand/trademarks.

The other option is do get on the secretary of state website for each state and do the search yourself for free. It isn’t hard to do, just time-consuming.

Whatever you do, keep good records of your due diligence efforts, just in case you end up in a dispute in the future (just keep a file with printouts of all of your research).

Hope that helps!

By: michael

michael — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:55:13 +0000

So confusingly similar, it’s no wonder the whole concept was designed by a greenie! Further, there must have been some kind of malicious intent to try and pull this off, maybe an isolated bad customer service issue??? The North Face has spent decades creating value in their mark and here comes some punk trying to degrade them with a crap-load of dumb t-shirts. This may be equivalent in shamefulness to the production of pirated brands/goods in Asia. Shame on you, punk!

About North Face: I had a zero degree North Face goose-down bag that my father bought in 1978. Used it again after a long hiatus and found it needed re-lofting. Sent it to NF in 2004 and they re-lofted the old bag with 700-fill (very high quality) down for FREE…

By: Ray

Ray — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:40:45 +0000

What exactly constitues doing business in other states? For example, if I start an LLC in Ohio which is a website that sells t-shirts, do I have to search every state in which a buyer might be from? Also, will my trademarked Ohio LLC be protected in other states as well?

By: delin

delin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:30:24 +0000

When I first saw Winkelmann’s mark, I thought it was The North Face mark. I’d bet that most people who see it would not bother to read the text because they think they already know what it says.

If North Face wants to protect their mark from being weakened, doesn’t that mean that they have to sue here? They did warn Winkelmann to stop, and he responded with a ridiculous offer. Winkelmann was basically asking for a lawsuit.

By: Jessica Eaves Mathews

Jessica Eaves Mathews — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:24:44 +0000

Thanks, Kate! I appreciate your comment!

You are so right. Anyone building a business has to think about their intellectual property, including trademarks, as assets of the company. If you don’t protect them, your company might not be marketable if you want to sell it. You want to make sure you have buttoned down anything that is a part of your unique branding so that it is a protected asset. If your trademarks are at risk because you failed to register them, you could find that no one will buy your company.

The same holds true if you are looking for investors. In most cases, potential investors will want to see that you have taken appropriate steps to protect and secure your trademarks and other intellectual property before they will be willing to invest.

Clearly, I need to read Built To Sell (its written by John Warrillow, if anyone wants to find it)! It looks like just what I need as I head full speed into 2010!

Thanks for your comment and the recommendation!