During the last month, our firm has been outlining what Indiana’s $1B investment in innovation means and our recommendations for how to most effectively use it in secondary and higher education. This week, we will be discussing the third area of focus on the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s list and detailing our recommendation for what we believe would be most beneficial to future entrepreneurs. Here is how the State plans to foster growth among co-working spaces, incubators and innovation centers:

Certain preconceptions of corporations follow the historical belief that corporations exist solely to maximize profits for shareholders. As such, a profit mandate gives those in charge much less of a choice than they might prefer. With the advent of businesses moving to a social awareness business model, this has put constraints on the traditional corporate legal model. So, what if a corporation was able to seek profits while also considering their potential benefit (or detriment) to society? The answer in most states has been the adoption of benefit corporations (“B-Corp”). During the summer of 2015, Indiana passed legislation to join those states allowing the registration of B-Corps. As of the fall of 2015, there are thirty states that have enacted legislation allowing for this particular type of entity.

Earlier this month, I was given the opportunity to speak with an entrepreneurship class at Purdue University, regularly taught by Tim Peoples – who is also the Director of Entrepreneur Services and Programming for the Purdue Foundry. My goal going into this class was to give the students a basic understanding of the options and processes that go into forming a company.

This blog was originally written as a guest post for Indiana on Tap. If you missed it, you can find Part 1 here.

In Part 1 of our Trademarks & Craft Beer series, we discussed what trademarks are and how you can determine if you eligable to receive one.  In this post, we will dive deeper into how to actually receive a trademark and the steps that should be taken it enforce it.

How do you receive trademark protection?

A trademark qualifies for protection in two instances. The first and easiest way to receive trademark protection is to be the first to use the mark in commerce. Case law has interpreted the phrase “using the mark in commerce” as being the first person to sell your specific product to the public with your identifying mark on it. So, if you are the first to sell “Megahop Celebration” in connection with the sale of that beer, you will receive priority to use that mark over other future users. Unfortunately, the priority to use the mark is limited to the geographic area in which you sell your beer. So if you only sell “Megahop Celebration” in Indiana, and someone else comes forward later and starts selling the same beer in Oregon, it is unlikely that you will be able to prevent someone else from selling a beer with the same name in Oregon.  Plus, because the United States is a first-to-file system, if the Oregon brewery files for a federal trademark before you do, you would be limited to only using “Megahop Celebration” in Indiana.  So much for growing your brand.

This blog was originally written as a guest post for Indiana on Tap.

As most people know, the craft beer industry has exploded in the past ten years. In 2005, there were slightly less than 1,500 craft breweries in the United States. Now there are almost 3,500.  The explosion has led to a craft beer renaissance, which consumers have greatly benefited from. Breweries have been developing new styles and coming up with names that will make sure you never forget the beer you just finished. Names like Osiris® or Zombie Dust® automatically take our mind to a hop island paradise. As the explosion of new brews crowds bar taps and shelf space, protecting brands has become increasingly important.  

One of the best ways to protect your brand is to register your trademark. Doing so protects a brand’s reputation and it helps distinguish the quality of your libations from that of others. With only so many ways and names that you can coin the name of your beer it is imperative to choose a name that does not infringe on somebody else’s.

As a small business owner the stakes are high. At risk is the chance of spending thousands of dollars marketing a new beer to only find out that another brewery already has trademark rights to that name. To make sure that you do not make that mistake, this article will hopefully answer some questions that a new brewer or interested beer drinker might have about the ins and outs of trademarks, the process of obtaining one, and the strategy for enforcing it.