Trademarks Made Easy

Don't get left behind! Your competitors are already using this info to create their online brand protection strategy, make sure you are too!

With millions of active customers on Amazon, there is room for a thriving market of successful sellers without copyright infringement or counterfeiting. BUT, it all starts with....

1. Research! - Do your homework about who your customer is, how and when they purchase and what they love about your products. But also, research your competitors, see where market trends have perhaps overstayed their welcome, and find opportunities for differentiation.

2. Create a Brand Strategy - The voice, style, colors, logo, tagline, fonts as well as the trademark itself and customer interaction like shipping and return policies. The end result of this work is a thorough and consistent Brand Bible or Creative Brief.

3. Create AND IMPLEMENT a Proactive Brand Protection Plan - Don't wait for your intellectual property to be infringed upon, protect it from the beginning, as proactivity is MUCH less expensive than just reacting to infringement and counterfeiters.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the show to get a new episode of Trademarks Made Easy every Friday, and visit https://www.theprivatelabellawyer.com for show notes and more info.

'I'M TALKING TO YOU, MOON UNIT!'

While some parents definitely give their children unique (and complicated) names, like the above example, the process for an adult to change his legal name is actually fairly simple & reasonably priced.

A trademark, meanwhile, can last not just a generation, but for many. A brand name can appreciate in value over time to become even more than a family heirloom, an asset & a legacy.

With over 2 million sellers on Amazon, it's hard enough for a brand to stand out from the rest of the pack. With a growing counterfeit & gray market, it's becoming imperative for us to protect & defend our trademarks directly.

Suzi brings you actionable advice on what to watch out for, how best to report it & to whom, as well as what to do when reporting isn't enough!

Amazon may be the world's largest digital flea market, but we want to ensure that we're there as merchants, not just to pick up fleas!

In 2013 $461 Billion worth of counterfeit goods were trafficked worldwide. roughly 20% of that number is American-made products. The U.S. Customs and Border Protections, Recordation can protect your trademark, brand and business, but the system is one that a lot of private label sellers don't fully understand.

For most businesses, it's a question of when, not if they'll face counterfeiting, so get ahead of the curve with the Private Label Lawyer. Find more info from the CBP here: https://iprr.cbp.gov

While this podcast isn't focused on the Amazon marketplace specifically, and Suzi is a big believer that we should all build businesses that can survive and thrive whether Amazon does or not, it would be foolish to overlook the 800-pound gorilla of eCommerce. And, thankfully, Amazon does offer new tools from time to time for private label sellers.

Today Suzi focuses on one of those tools, the Amazon Brand Registry 2.0, which comes with a whole host of benefits for sellers and brands.

In the age of Amazon, it is IMPERATIVE that eCommerce sellers develop branding strategies that sell & select trademarks that best represent & convey those strategies! Suzi outlines both the keys to building a good trademark, but also the ways to recognize whether you're holding a bad trademark.

She also uses real-world examples to help you take your idea from good trademark to GREAT and build the kind of brand that will grow in value over time, outlasting any of your products or even your own ownership!

Suzi Hixon, The Private Label Lawyer, is your guide to the world of trademarks and what they mean for the legacy of your business and brand.

In this debut episode, Suzi highlights the difference in brands that “give you the feels”, and lays out the course for those brands that want to separate themselves from the pack. Tangible products will rust away, but a trademark can last forever, so do what you can to protect it!