Ohanele Law Firm

06/22/2021

Today is the day!! I hope you can join in at 3pm PST for NFTs, IP & Your Digital Domain!

06/18/2021

We all know what happened to everyone on Arya’s list so you wouldn’t want to be judged in her court.
But even if you were listed as a defendant in the real world, it still isn’t a great situation. Most times, you’ll have to hire a lawyer just to resolve the issue even if you aren’t responsible.
I’ve had clients who were either friends, or colleagues, or a vendor for a brand that infringed on a trademark.
Everyone got hauled in to court.
Sometimes, it can cost nearly $20k just to respond to the initial pleading, let alone actually fight the case in court.
What’s the moral of the story, if you are doing work for someone who is knocking off a brand, or infringing on someone’s copyright then beware. All hands are dirty and the copyright or trademark owner will list as many people as possible to make sure they get paid.
It’ll be up to you to explain why your name shouldn’t be on the list.
Did you know that you don’t have to be the actual infringer to be sued by a trademark or copyright owner?

06/17/2021

In the long term, your business’s brand could grow on its own. But, there are a few things you can do to stay ahead of the curve, and well ahead of the competition.

1. Register trademarks for significant brand assets. It could be your company name, your username, a slogan you use, or a product or service that has become popular. The worst thing you can do is wait until you blow up to trademark your brand name only to find out it's taken. That's what happened to the Clubhouse App everyone's been on most of 2020. Now, they've been slapped with a trademark infringement lawsuit. Seems like an amateur move for a company worth $1.4 billion and backed by venture capitalists.

2. Check the internet periodically for people who are copycat vendors. Meaning they have copied your brand or product just enough to confuse your customers. It may not seem like a big deal initially, but once customers start to complain about poor quality and leave bad reviews, all the hard work you put into your business will be in jeopardy.

3. Licensing is a great way to lock in the value of your brand, or creative works at a particular time. This means that when you negotiate new contracts, the compensation you or your brand is valuable information about the strength and value of your brand. You should be negotiating that figure every time you enter a new contract.

4. This one is key because it will give you a sense of how your brand is growing. Believe me, Beyonce didn't come out the gate signing Netflix deals. But, you better believe that she had someone monitoring that strength of her influence with each new merch release, every album, and every brand partnership. That data, collected over time, gives her significant negotiating power. That kind of power is hard to fake.

Was this helpful? Anything you would add, leave it in the comments.

06/15/2021

Would you like to learn more about Ohanele Law Firm and the services we provide? Check out the video below to learn more. We look forward to working with you as you grow your business!

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