ABC S OF TRADEMARKING FOR FARM & FOOD BUSINESSES

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Amelia Hampton
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1 ABC S OF TRADEMARKING FOR FARM & FOOD BUSINESSES A Webinar for Small Business Counselors & Cooperative Extension Agents HOSTED BY THE NC GROWING TOGETHER PROJECT AT THE CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FARMING SYSTEMS AND THE NORTH CAROLINA RURAL CENTER Presented by: Leo John, North Carolina Secretary of State s Office This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture, under award no Any opinions, findings, recommendations, or conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

2 Our Agenda Today NCGT Introduction to Webinar & Overview of the GoTo Meeting Platform Presentation from Leo John, NC Secretary of State s Office Question & Answer Session Welcome!

N C GROW ING TOGETHER AT T HE C ENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTA L FA RMING SYS T

buyer connections Supply chain expansion Wholesale and institutional

North Carolina Growing Together is a five-year USDA-funded project

and to model this work for other geographies in the U.S.

seafood, produce, and value-added products Supportive business

3 N C GROW ING TOGETHER AT T HE C ENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTA L FA RMING SYS T EMS Farmer capacity Food safety, market channels, production techniques, buyer connections Supply chain expansion Wholesale and institutional partner connections, infrastructure assessment and business feasibility North Carolina Growing Together is a five-year USDA-funded project aiming to strengthen and expand local and regional food supply chains and to model this work for other geographies in the U.S. Producer & processor capacity Resource development for meat, dairy, seafood, produce, and value-added products Supportive business environments Local government integration; small business development and support for food-based entrepreneurs

4 ABOUT THE PLATFORM GoTo Webinar Platform You will be automatically muted this helps cut down on background noise and data overload! You can interact with presenters by sending a message to Emily or by asking a question (use the buttons in the right sidebar). If you have trouble during the webinar, send a private message to Emily by right-clicking on her name in the sidebar and selecting Send Private Message. Your chat box questions will be answered during the Q&A session at the end.

5 After the webinar ends, you will receive a link to the YouTube video so that you can re-watch or share as you like! You ll also receive a PDF version of the presentation which allows access to all the links and resources, and contact information for the presenters. HAVE A GOOD IDEA? Let us know if there are other topics or presentations you d like to see!

7 TRADEMARKS

8 NORTH CAROLINA TRADEMARKS

9 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY An idea, invention, or process that derives from the work of the mind or intellect. Another definition: Intangible property that gives an owner rights to exclusive use and protection of its brand of goods and services, literary and artistic works, inventions and trade secrets.

10 TYPES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Patent is the grant of a property right to an inventor to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling his/her invention in the United States. Copyright protects original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architectural design. Trade Secret is something (such as a formula) which has economic value to a business because it is not generally known or easily discoverable by observation and for which efforts have been made to maintain secrecy.

11 Trademark is any word, name, symbol, or device or any combination thereof adopted and used by a person to identify goods made, sold, or distributed by him/her and to distinguish them from goods made, sold, or distributed by others. Service Mark is any word, name, symbol, or device or any combination thereof used in the sale or advertising of services to identify the services of one person and distinguish them from the services of others.

12 YOU INVENT THE LIP SMACKIN BBQ SAUCE

13 START A RESTAURANT: LIP SMACKIN BBQ

14 LEADING TO LINES OUTSIDE.

15 DOWN THE STREET COMES LIP SMACKING BBQ

16 LINES OUTSIDE LIP SMACKING BBQ

17 WHAT IS A TRADEMARK? Any word, name, symbol, or device or any combination thereof adopted and used by a person to identify goods made, sold, or distributed by him and to distinguish them from..others. Filing fee of $75 and three specimens of the mark as currently used with Secretary of State. Registration effective for 10 years, renewable for successive terms of 10 years.

18 BENEFITS OF TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS Create and protect a brand or product name or design to which significant expense or time has been devoted. Protects quality of goods and services because trademark only given to entity that controls product quality Count as an intangible asset that can be used to improve balance sheet and raise capital

19 THE NORTH CAROLINA TRADEMARK ACT IMPACT OF THE FEDERAL TRADEMARK ACT OF 1946 The purpose of this Article is to provide a system of State trademark registration and protection substantially consistent with the federal system of trademark registration and protection under the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. 1051, et seq., as amended. The construction given the federal act should be examined as persuasive authority for interpreting and construing this Article. N.C. Gen. Stat Purpose.

20 DATABASES SEARCHED PRIOR TO GRANT Same or similar to an existing trademark in N.C. Secretary of State trademarks database Same or similar to a trade name in N.C. Corporations database Same or similar to a trademark awarded to a N.C. entity in the federal trademarks database of the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office.

21 TWO CONCEPTS Trade Name - name an owner uses to identify his or her business. Registered with the Register of Deeds in county where person does business. Trademark used to identify goods Servicemark a mark used in the sale or advertising of services to identify the services of one person and distinguish them from services of others *

22 CONCEPTS IN TRADEMARKS Descriptive terms no trademarks Adjectives greatest, homemade etc. cannot be registered Commercial use what does it mean Terms so popularized they are generic cannot be registered, eg. OBX Unlicensed permitted use then you lose trademark protection

23 SPECIMENS When applying for a trademark or service mark in North Carolina, applicants are required to submit three (3) complete, original, current (no more than six [6] months old) specimens of the mark as it currently is being used in North Carolina on or in association with its goods or in the sale or advertising of its services. N.C.G.S (b)

24 APPROPRIATE SPECIMENS FOR TRADEMARKS The product itself with the mark depicted on a label or tag affixed to the goods/products; A mark stamping affixed to the goods or containers for the goods; A clear photograph showing use of the mark on the goods themselves when both the mark and the complete product are visible; A catalog where the entire mark, the goods and purchasing information are positioned together and clearly visible on the page; A clear photograph of a display on which the goods are positioned and the entire mark is prominently pictured in close proximity to the goods; and A web page printout with the entire mark, goods/products, point-of-sale information and the applicant s web address clearly visible on the page.

25 APPROPRIATE SPECIMENS FOR SERVICE MARKS Business card (with entire mark displayed); Letterhead (with entire mark displayed); Newspaper and magazine advertisements depicting the mark (the full-page ad); Computer screen printout of the mark in use on the applicant s web page with the entire mark and applicant s web address visible on the page; Mug, ink pen, pencil, notebook (with entire mark displayed) Menus, napkins and matchbooks used in restaurants, clubs and bars (with entire mark displayed); and Photograph (original and clear) of the entire mark displayed on a sign, billboard, marquis, store, shop, restaurant, medical facility, office building, vehicle, shirt or cap etc.

26 UNACCEPTABLE SPECIMENS FOR TRADEMARKS OR SERVICE MARKS Photocopies of the mark; Camera-ready layouts or camera-ready art; Drawings; Blueprints; Faxes; and Voided checks and deposit slips Photographs of clothing when both the mark and the manufacturer s label are not visible in the photo.

27 INFRINGEMENT Civil remedies for owner of registered mark are stated in G.S for reproduction, counterfeit, copy or colorable imitation of a mark registered in connection with the sale, offering for sale, or advertising of any goods or services (where) such use is likely to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive as to source of origin. Criminal penalties under G.S

28 TRADEMARKS ONLINE HELP FAQs: Search: Fees:

29 WE CAN HELP Specific questions, call trademarks registrar Deborah Butler, phone: Trademarks (general):

30 U P COMING W E B I NA RS November 13 November marks the end of the 2017 webinar series. We re developing two webinar series for 2018 one for small business issues and one for local and regional government issues. If you re interested in a particular topic for either of the 2018 series, please send your ideas to Emily at Emily_Edmonds@ncsu.edu. Check out previous webinars in this series on YouTube! search CEFSINFO

Trademarks 101: Everything you ve always wanted to know about trademarks but were afraid to ask. Presented by:

Trademarks 101: Everything you ve always wanted to know about trademarks but were afraid to ask Presented by: Kimberly Wieland Corporation Service Company Photo: Getty Images Do I have your attention?