ACC Austin October CLE LuncheonOctober 17, 2013

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Managing Your Trademark Portfolio: Top 10 Tips for the In-House Counsel

Erin HennessyBracewell & GiulianiAssociation of Corporate CounselCLE LuncheonOctober 17, 2013

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1. Choose a Mark You Can Protect.

• Spectrum of distinctiveness• A means for determining a mark’s inherent distinctiveness or

strength. • Also determines a trademark’s scope of protection. The more

distinctive the mark, the greater its level of legal protectability.

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2. Trademark Clearance Tips

• Conduct trademark clearance before you launch the product.

• Trademark Clearance = Risk Management

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2. Trademark Clearance Tips

• Consider life-cycle of product or service.• Not one size fits all.• Cost control

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2. Trademark Clearance Tips

• Streamline the Clearance Process

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2. Trademark Clearance Tips

• Train Marketing Team to Do Quick “Knock-Out” Searches

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2. Trademark Clearance Tips• When you are doing the searching, use RED, YELLOW,

GREEN indicators to indicate risk.

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2. Trademark Clearance Tips• If you are in a specialized industry, include industry-specific

databases in your preliminary searches.• Gaming • Amazon.com, GameStop.com

• Music • ArtistDirect.com, Amazon.com, iTunes

• Software • CNet.com, Amazon.com

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2. Trademark Clearance Tips

• Be Creative!!• How can you turn a “no” into a “yes”?

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3. Conduct Trademark Basics Training Seminars for Marketing Team on Regular Basis.

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4. Establish Policies for Proper Trademark Use – Internally and Externally

PROPER TRADEMARK USE STARTS AT HOME!

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5. Leverage Your Domain Name Portfolio

• Are all domain names pointing to home site?• Monetization?• Can legal be a revenue stream?• Are you tracking launch of new gTLDs?

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6. Be proactive! (part I)

• Trademark Searching• Trademark Watch Programs• File Trademark Registrations with Customs• Ebay VeRO Program• Monitor Social Media

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7. Monitor Competitors

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8. Be Creative! (part II) – Enforcement

• “Duty to Enforce”• Carefully Consider Best Approach.

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9. Make Sure You Have Rights to Use Third-Party IP

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10. Negotiate Outside Counsel Fees

• Flat fees?• Alternative fee arrangements – monthly spends, etc.

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THANK YOU!

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