Last year, Gutwein Law opened our second office in Indianapolis, Indiana. Thirteen months and three additional attorneys later, and our intellectual property practice is flourishing. We wanted to come up with a way to share our collective knowledge and experience with the people who need it but may not be ready to formally hire an attorney yet. From there, a solution was born.

When the United States Constitution was adopted, it included a provision for preserving intellectual property, done as a means to protect those who invent new products and develop new methods useful to society. Recently, that protection has been morphed into a tool at the hands of people hoping to make what many argue as an undeserved profit. These non-practicing entities (“NPEs”) have come to be infamously known as “patent trolls.” As patent troll litigation heads towards an all-time high, many companies, especially small business, are worried about being targeted by these NPEs, who are getting away with large profits.  The actions of the NPEs can also be seen as hindering the advancement of innovation, the very thing the patent system was put in place to promote.

As we head into 2016, it is no secret that startup culture is spreading beyond the coasts. Cities throughout the Midwest are claiming qualities that new companies are finding increasingly alluring. Thinking about startup hubs in the Midwest, a few cities come to mind: Chicago, Cincinnati, Kansas City, even Detroit. One city that might not be on many people’s radar is Lafayette, IN – and it should be.

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.

If you missed it, you can find Part 1: FAA Regulations here.

On the TV show Modern Family, a drone spied on a sunbathing Gloria (invasion of privacy), Phil used his “professional aerial photography tool” or drone to find Luke and his friends (trespassing), and Jay crashed his model airplane into Phil while attempting to “thread the needle” (personal injury).  Modern Family comically illustrates some of the many potential legal issues drones present.  Before you or your company invests in a drone, you should consider three legal issues that are likely to be on the legal horizon for drone use:  tort liability, insurance, and products liability.