Intellectual Property
When a business or entrepreneur has valuable trade secrets or other information that gives them a competitive advantage, protecting these assets is essential. The team at The Crone Law Firm is well positioned to mount a strong defense of this property, or to defend an entity accused of “stealing” assets.
One of the most important aspects of our approach to such a case is applying a business analysis to the litigation. A plaintiff in this situation must weight the value of the asset being protected – both current value and future value – against the cost of the protection effort. Thus getting an objective, expert valuation early in the process is essential.
If you are in need of protecting your assets or are in need of defending yourself against an accusation, call Alan Crone at 901-737-7740.
What You Need to Know about IP
Examples of intellectual property worth spending money to protect include manufacturing processes, systems for performing services, internal policies and procedures, customer lists, vendor lists, pricing systems or schemes, methods of compiling competitive bids, prices or grants, costs and prices for supplies, margins, and any piece of information or data that would give the party a competitive advantage.
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Trademarks
Like you, your business has an identity. A name. A reputation. Your business identity is the key to customer goodwill that has real value. Today, your business may even have an Internet address to go along with its physical address, bringing new customers to your door. Developing and protecting your business identity is what trademark law at The Crone Law Firm is all about.
Whether your business is just beginning to establish an identity in the marketplace, or is already building a brand that’s recognized in your industry, The Crone Law Firm‘s Intellectual Property Law Practice Group can help you to secure your business identity, online and off.
Today’s highly interconnected world presents many challenges and opportunities for protecting your business’s valuable identity. Trademarks of companies in distant states that might once have coexisted are now just a few clicks away, and increasingly in conflict. Choosing the wrong name for your business or other organization without careful checking can have consequences beyond poor customer acceptance, and can potentially invite litigation. The Crone Law Firm‘s Intellectual Property Law Practice Group is ready to guide you away from these and other hazards that you may not have recognized were on your course ahead.
Here’s how:
Trademark registration and clearance
Even if you presently have no plans to expand your business beyond the state, we know that here in the Mid-South, you may already have customers from those neighboring states that are just a short drive away. Registering a trademark used in interstate commerce helps protect your business identity for future expansion, and establishes your use of the mark nationwide, pre-empting competing businesses from taking advantage of the business and brand identity you’ve worked so hard to establish.
Entrepreneurs starting a business know that choosing the right name is a critical decision, and one that needs input from more than just the marketing department. Even if you decide not to register a federally protected trademark now, getting the right advice and doing a trademark search early on can avoid the expense of renaming and rebranding your products or services when that letter arrives to inform you that you’re potentially infringing someone else’s business identity.
The Crone Law Firm‘s Intellectual Property Law Practice Group is ready to help you develop a strong business identity, backed by a trademark search that reduces the risks of unintentional infringement.
Trademark defense and enforcement
Protecting your business identity requires monitoring, just as protecting your personal identity does. If your trademarks are infringed, your business could risk losing its identity or brand. To prevent infringers from taking your business identity, you first have to know it’s happening. Monitoring your business’ trademarks for infringement is the first step, and The Crone Law Firm‘s Intellectual Property Law Practice Group will stand watch for you, alerting you to potential problems.
Once possible trademark infringement is discovered, The Crone Law Firm‘s Intellectual Property Law Practice Group can advise you on the appropriate strategy to defend your business identity, whether it takes a warning letter, negotiation, or an infringement suit. And if your business is accused of trademark infringement, The Crone Law Firm‘s Intellectual Property Law Practice Group has the team to defend you.
Did you know?
The word “aspirin” was once trademarked by the Bayer company in the United States, but lost its power to identify a particular manufacturer because the trademark became generic. What a headache!