I think Amazon has its hands everywhere. Being the data center behind Netflix, is a job in itself. It’s ensuring that it’s servers never go down for one of the biggest companies in the world. But not only that, Amazon is playing against them at the same time, building its’ own live streaming service for prime members. Amazon is one of the fiercest business nesses, both supporting its competitors, building millions of brands around the world, and achieving impossible feats. If Amazon can build a streaming service, launch rockets into outer space, own 15% of every pc, jump into logistics and run an international shipping company, deliver fresh groceries in under a day, and much more, then should we ask ourselves, is running a private label company even comparably hard.

Podcast 18 – is all on advanced -aka legal ways of protecting your product. It’s on trademarks, patents, and copyrights in which you need to know.

* You can’t protect ideas themselves, but you can protect expressions of ideas.

* Copyrights are for “books, photographs, or recorded songs. Once you create an original work, you own the copyright.

* Trademarks are for business more than creativity, which helps prevent confusion between goods and services of one brand and another. Officially registering it with government, gives you additional rights, including nationwide protection of your mark. It can also help other brands selling similar goods under a similar trademark.

* Patents -

Utility patent – protects the way something works

In order to get a U.S patent – you have to be the first one to apply for it. Being the first one to invent it doesn’t count. Filing a provisional patent, saves your spot for 1 year. And gives you the ability to become patent pending.

So what does this all mean!? If your product becomes a hit success on Amazon, and you see no one else selling it, and you do a bunch of google searches looking for if this product has been patented, and that doesn’t exist, you better fricken patent that idea.

The goal isn’t to go gung-ho suing everyone who might private label the product you found. Technically you didn’t invent the product, and I am by no means a lawyer, or giving legal advice, buy according to Legal Zoom, if you are the first one in the United States to apply for it, then you are essentially the inventor. So yes, someone in China could have designed it. And yes, there could be existing sellers. But if no one patented the design, or the utility, which is rare, but DOES happen, then you could hold the patents to your super successful private label.

Why would you want to do this? For obvious reasons. Let’s say a big corporation see’s you’re doing well, not only that, you’re starting to cut into their sales with a better, competing product, and because of their enormous resources, i.e money, employees, lawyers and such, and the amount of money on the line, they also decided to build that product, and file the patent of the product your currently selling. Then technically they beat you to the punch. Not only can they sell it, if their patent goes through, they can sue you for selling it, and earn money for every unit you sold of it. So in my opinion, file that provisional patent as soon as possible, if you deem its possible, which will allow you to sleep a little better at night.

Filing these patents isn’t necessarily for attacking other companies. It’s for protecting your product, your company, and your company’s future.

The other big advantage to filing a patent, is being able to put “Patent Pending” on your product. In my opinion, that gives you a leg up against anyone who considers selling your product. I personally would not private label a product where a competitor has a patent pending on it. Why create something, if someone has patents on it. Its’ asking for trouble.