Are you starting a new project? Or rebranding? Or growing your business to sell? Do you: Know what ‘brand’ means and signifies to the value of your business? Know when and how to protect your IP? Have the knowledge and skills in Brand IP and branding to be your own brand manager? You as the business owner need a solid understanding of Brand and IP so you can be its brand manager. Or if your Read More »
Tesco made a big mistake when it launched its innovative loyalty card scheme under a name it could not own. The company tried in vain to register Clubcard as a trademark. Unless a business has intellectual property protecting its innovation, such as a trademark, patent, copyright, design, or trade secret, competitors are free to copy Read More »
Tesco probably didn’t initially realise the wider ramifications of using the Clubcard name, so may have been satisfied with its advertising agency. However, clients who are initially satisfied with a service can later become dissatisfied once they learn more about branding… This happened to me. Nearly 10 years ago a designer acquaintance approached me to Read More »
As a law firm owner I regularly hear about the problems businesses experience around IP. While their individual circumstances vary hugely, the IP mistakes they make are common and easily avoidable. The reason these IP mistakes are widespread is that they occur very early on when new businesses or projects are initiated. Well before people Read More »
Last week I mentioned that Tesco lost the benefit of its million-pound marketing spend because it used the Clubcard name instead of a stronger name like Tescocard. If you missed it you can read it on the Azrights blog A million-pound mistake? Although Tesco received an inadequate service from its advertising agency, chances are that at Read More »
Intellectual Property (IP) is part and parcel of business, yet it abounds with misconceptions. For example, it’s not generally appreciated that protecting IP starts by understanding how to choose effective names, address questions of brand architecture, such as after a merger, as well as to know how the various IP rights protect key aspects of Read More »