Trademarking Troubles

With the majority of us being business majors/minors and possibly wanting to open our own businesses one day we must be particularly aware of certain trademarks. A clever name or life-long idea could already be taken and there is little to nothing we can do about it. It would be unbelievably difficult if not impossible to create a start-up business while paying pricey court fees.

What brings me to this point is a recent article I read involving two of my idols, David Ortiz and Jay-Z. Ortiz recent opened up a nightclub named "Forty-Forty" which strongly resembles Jay-Z's 40/40 Club. Jay-Z's nightclub name is trademarked and he feels as if Ortiz's is trying to reek some of the benefits by creating a similar name to the already established club. Because of this Jay-Z is suing Ortiz for over $5 million.

Paying attention to trademarks or even trademarking your own brand is extremely important. However, trademarking can sometimes difficult to understand. For example generic brands are not protectable. In this case 40/40 refers to an achievement in baseball ( 40 homeruns, 40 stolen bases). I would consider the number 40 or even the achievement 40/40 to be pretty generic. I guess this is not the case when they become a club name.

Do you feel as if the two names are too close and there is a trademarking issue? These seems to be a lot that is unknown about trademarking, how can rules and regulations of trademarking be better cleared up to the public or start-up business owners?

Branding

Often times branding is something many consumers take for granted. There is little thought that actually goes into the significance of the equally as little symbol that is strategically placed on a product. However, the branding process can be a crucial part of establishing a product for many companies. A brand can essentially make or break a company. There are many aspects that go into creating a successful brand. This includes creating a name for that brand (brand name) as well as a symbol (brand mark). The brand name is important because if it is awkward or does not flow smoothly it likely will cause your product to not to sell. This is tough for new companies because the name of their product is not something that many consumers know and because of this the name may seem awkward. It is extremely difficult to create a brand name that automatically sounds correct to consumers. Many times these consumers need to hear a new name multiple times to become comfortable with it. The same applies with band marks. Often times people need to see these marks multiple times before they associate them with the name.

Both buyers and sellers benefit from branding. Brands help consumers recognize products they like. For me personally I know I tend to favor certain brands over others. The first and most dominant branding that comes to mind for me involves clothing. When I shop for cloths I am always aware of what brand they are and this makes up probably 90% of my decision as to if I buy the article of clothing or not. I think this is the case for many people. Some people are willing to spend $10 or $20 more when essentially all they are buying is the brand. I think this highlights how important a brand is to a company and the overall importance of a brand in general.

Do brands matter to you, if so can you think of the areas where brands weigh heavily on your decisions? Can you think of any brands you have avoided because you didn't know how to pronounce or were unfamiliar with?