The top 10 questions you NEED to ask if your site isn’t making any sales By Derek Gehl Imagine: After weeks of hard work, your website is finally live. You’ve officially been open for business an entire week. And yet you haven’t made any sales. Not. One. Single. Sale. Arggh! Don’t despair — we’ve all […]
Knowledge Base
Successful eMail Campaigns
How to get a high response rate for you email campaign By Derek Gehl Here are five tips you can apply to absolutely any email marketing campaign: Tip #1: Keep your email really PERSONAL: It should sound like you’re talking to a close personal friend. Tip #2: Keep your email SHORT: Try to keep it […]
Protect Your Name — Register It and Buy The Domain
Name, Name, Who Has The Name I am worried about using a name for my business that someone else may already be using. How would I go about researching a name I want to use for my new business? There are a number of sources that you can use to research an existing business name. […]
Design Resources For Your WebSite
24 free and cheap design resources to help you build your site By Andrew Mallory One of the questions we often hear from our Advanced Mentoring clients is, “How can I build a website? I don’t know the first thing about site design!” You don’t have to build your own site if you don’t want […]
Questions From Inventors about Product Development Cycle and Patent Application Process
Treat Your Inventions Like Commercial Products — Edison Did! Support for and protection of inventors is a big topic and one we will spend more time on in future blog entries. Based on the questions and comments I’ve received, our Pleiades Publishing Services client base are a busy and creative lot. Internet marketing seems to […]
Is Your Process or Service Covered By Intellectual Property Rights?
What exactly is Intellectual Property? Intellectual property is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain names, written and recorded media, and inventions. The holders of these legal entitlements may exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the Intellectual property. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that […]
How Trademarks and Service Marks Protect You From Infringement
Is the name of a band a trademark? Yes, band names would be considered trademarks, or more appropriately service marks, for entertainment services in the nature of performances by a [type of music specified] band. Can a minor file a trademark application? This depends upon state law. If the person can validly enter into binding […]
Intellectual Property Protection — Time and Money
How long does a trademark registration last? For a trademark registration to remain valid, an Affidavit of Use (“Section 8 Affidavit”) must be filed between the fifth and sixth year following registration. Assuming that an affidavit of use is timely filed, registrations granted PRIOR to November 16, 1989 have a 20-year term, and registrations granted […]
Questions About Copyrights, Patents, and Trademarks
Can the Office refuse to register a mark? Yes! The Office will refuse to register matter if it does not function as a trademark. Not all words, names, symbols, or devices function as trademarks. For example matter which is merely the generic name of the goods on which it is used cannot be registered. Additionally, […]
Intellectual Property Rights and Common Law
What are common law rights? Federal registration is not required to establish rights in a trademark. Common law rights arise from actual use of a mark. Generally, the first to either use a mark in commerce or file an intent to use application with the Patent and Trademark Office has the ultimate right to use […]