ブログ＆ニュース

The most basic reason to do a comprehensive trademark search is to avoid trouble.

When you start a new business or a new brand you want to be completely sure that you will not have to change that name later. Changing business name or brand 12 months or more after launch is often a disaster.

To stay out of trouble you have to avoid what the law calls likelihood of confusion. You can read on the USPTO's (The US Patent and Trademark Office) website: "A complete search is one that will uncover all similar marks, not just those that are identical." http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/search/

So you have to answer the question: Are there other similar trademarks, being used for similar or related goods or services?

To answer that question you should do a free comprehensive search at Markify.com (there are other trademark search engines but no one nearly as accurate that is also free, see report).

1. Choose you primary market: US or Europe.
2. Limit your search to 1-3 relevant classes (business categories)
3. Go through the result list and make sure that none of the marks is both:
   • Too similar and
   • Do similar things

Depending on your result list, this can be a bit tricky, learn more. It’s often worth a good nights sleep to get a professional opinion from a trademark attorney.

Wow! Markify is ranked number 1 in a study of trademark search services. In the report by ipPerformance you can read: "On average, most of the vendors had very similar results with the exception of Markify, where the results were significantly superior."

"Overall, we found that Markify provides the most impressive find rate. This result was significantly better (99.7%) than the other tools in the test."

You can download the full report at ipPerformance Group or directly right here.

This is of course a huge recognition of our work with the core similarity technology. Today we are proud and happy!

The Markify exposition at the INTA Annual Meeting in San Francisco in May was a huge success. And in several ways:

1. Business leads: We had so many visitors to our booth that the three of us didn't always have time to take care of everyone. The number of new potential clients is fantastic.
2. User input: The input from trademark lawyers from all over the world was simply outstanding. They told me all we need know when we now continue to develop Markify.
3. Partnerships: Industry leaders in various positions approached us to discuss cooperation. Very exciting opportunities.
4. Buzz: The buzz we generated in the trademark community is still echoing in our inboxes.

How did we do it? I think the trademark lawyer at one of the big cola drink companies summarized it well: "You had a great way of getting me into the booth (Win an iPad 2). Then you showed me a great product. Well done!"

We celebrate our first INTA Annual Meeting with giving away an iPad 2 to one lucky attendee. Enter the free trial of our new full watch services (no strings attached) and you may be the winner! Come by our booth 124 to get the promotion code. The winner will be announced on Tuesday the 17th at 3.15pm in our booth.

When we took the decision of exhibiting at the INTA Annual Meeting we understood it would mean a lot of extra work for us. The first time you do something it is always difficult and take a lot of time. Here are the six big areas I think are important for a successful exposition:

1. Set the overall target for our participation. Why are we exhibiting? With what offer? To who? Concept?
2. Produce the graphics and order all exposition gear.
3. Get the right personnel
4. Travel and hotel arrangements
5. Book the right meetings
6. Bring all gear to the booth, set it up, have fun and smile

Soon I will know what I have missed . . . Showtime

Some call a “No” the next best thing to a “Yes” when you are fundraising. Part cliché, part true, in my opinion. Because a “No” is only valuable if you understand it. Otherwise it can be a huge time waster. And getting a clear and fast “No” from angels and VC’s is not always that easy.

Before we got a firm “Yes” we got our share of “No’s”. Here is my personal guide to the land of “No” when you are raising seed capital.

I have found basically five kinds of “No’s” - and I have come to truly respect two of them
and found ways to deal with the others:

1. The “No” in advance. This kind of “No” you get on angels’ and VC’s websites, in interviews and other sources like Quora and Formspring. Here are some examples:

• “We never invest outside the US”
• “We only invest in B2C”
• “We have never invested in a company which hasn’t been referred to us by someone we trust.”

This is their strategy, and that must be their call. These people saved me a lot of time by stating their preferences. I respect that and will not bother them with my pitch if it doesn’t fit their criteria.

2. The silent “No”. At their website they encourage you to send your business plan. Then you  never hear from them. There is a fundamental communication problem here:

• The angel/VC thinks that he is sending the signal: “We are flooded by deals and actually don’t have time to answer all, even if we would like to”.
• But the entrepreneur might think that the signal is: “Your idea/team/plan is so bad that it is not even worth an answer”.

Waste of time for the entrepreneur and bad marketing for the angel/VC.

3. The clear and fast “No”. The angel/VC has looked at your start-up, maybe met you and quickly gives their reason for saying no. This will save you a lot of time and sometimes you get valuable input from their answer. Both parties build respect and network.

4. The slow “No”. It can sound like this: “This looks very interesting but we would like to see this, this, this and that.” When you are raising seed capital you just don’t have the time or resources to do too much else than focus on your core development. Unfortunately not all investors understand and respect this. To understand when you are wasting your time is key in this process.

5. The “Yes” that is really a “No”. It can sound like: “Yes, we are very interested, but not right now because we are so busy.Can you come back in two months?” Keep you hopes down when you start hearing the phrase “not right now”.

So here is an appell to all angels and VC’s, who I know really care for entrepreneurs and start-ups:
A. State selection criteria - On your website or wherever a search engine can find it, state your true first selection criteria,  typically: Location, Sectors, Referrals, Stages, or whatever selection model you are using. This will save you and the entrepreneur lots of time.
B. Deliver your “No” answers clear and fast - It will give you respect in the entrepreneur community and bring you valuable business in the long run.