With the rise of entrepreneurship (especially among Black women), we have to discuss protecting what we've built. To open our "Wealth & Ownership" series, I spoke with Trademark Attorney, Rukayatu "Ruky" Tijani on how to trademark your brand.

Rukayatu "Ruky" Tijani is an attorney, speaker, and the Founder Firm for the Culture—a virtual law firm designed to help social entrepreneurs and founders protect their brand as they scale their impact. She is a proud Nigerian-American first-generation professional from Brooklyn, New York; a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law; and a member of the New York and California State Bars. Ruky founded Firm for the Culture after years of serving as an intellectual property attorney in the Silicon Valley Office of the top litigation firm in the country. Firm for the Culture was borne out of Ruky's passion for the law, social impact, social entrepreneurship, and strategically scaling to create sustainable change. The firm provides trademark services, networking opportunities, and strategy sessions for social entrepreneurs to own their brand as they scale their social impact. Ruky has provided workshops to young professionals and creatives at New York University School of Law, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and Berkeley Law School. She has been recognized as a California Change Lawyer for Legal Diversity, been featured in XONecole and Above the Law, and taken part in several podcast interviews, including the Happy Lawyers Project and the First-Gen Lounge.

In this episode, we cover:

• The difference between a trademark, copyright, and patent;
• The trademark application and selection process;
• Reasons for a rejected application and how to still mark your brand;
• What can be trademarked;
• The investment;
• Repercussions and litigations;
• Rukayatu's trademarking firm, Firm For the Culture;

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