How to Protect a Trademark as Collateral on a Loan (Part 2)

Welcome back to the world of Secured Transactions and IP! A quick refresher from last week (link last week’s post?): lenders engage in “secured transactions” with a borrower who has put up collateral against that loan which has become enforceable. The lender can possess and sell that collateral if the borrower defaults should that lender … Read more

‘Tis the Season to Be Descriptive

After last week’s post featured Lola celebrating Thanksgiving in style, it seems only fitting for this post to cover the next phase of the holiday season. That’s right, we’re talking Black Friday and Cyber Monday! Given the commercial success associated with these two days each year, you may wonder whether “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” … Read more

“Would You Capture It or Just Let It Slip?”

Many of our readers are likely familiar with Eminem’s hit single “Lose Yourself.” I imagine significantly fewer are familiar with “Mom’s Spaghetti,” the underrated and amusing parody to “Lose Yourself.” In recent weeks, “Mom’s Spaghetti” made national headlines for a different reason.  A “Mom’s Spaghetti” restaurant took its “chance to blow” by opening in downtown … Read more

Control Level: Blue

I am a self-professed #TrademarkNerd.  I think they are interesting beasts.  They combine business, law, social science, and, of course, shopping.  When a lot of people think about trademarks, they think about what the company owns and does with it.  That’s fair.  Companies spend a lot of time, money, and effort on their trademarks.  But … Read more

Will You Go Out With Me?

Unsurprisingly, I find myself often being asked to describe what “intellectual property” is.  I, all too often, find myself giving a description that is not all that helpful.  If you are asking what “intellectual property” is, then saying “intangible business assets” isn’t going to get us much closer to understanding.  One way that I have … Read more

Specimens: The Trademark Kind

Are you thinking about registering a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”)? Registering a trademark can be a very smart and effective decision for your business, but it isn’t quite as simple as you might think it is. To register a trademark you need to provide a considerable amount of … Read more

Strong Foundations: IP webinar series

We want you to start your 2021 armed with knowledge! Strong Foundations is a presentation series to help owners of companies build their knowledge of key legal concepts and then use this knowledge to grow their companies on those strong foundations.  This first series will discuss intellectual property including trademarks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets and contracts relating to … Read more

Leave the Terror Behind with an Incontestable Trademark!

With Halloween approaching there are more scary things than usual sending chills down my spine. Some of these things are fun-scary, like playing spooky pranks on friends, covering my eyes for most of a horror flick, or taking witching hour strolls through poorly lit cemeteries. Then there are things like the current economic crisis sending … Read more