Are you in the process of developing a brand for your company?
Does your company name infringe on an existing USPTO registered service mark?
Can you achieve USPTO registration for your product names?
Are your sales lagging because your competitors are using your trademarks, copyrighted content, or trade secrets without your permission?
Have you received a Cease-and-Desist Demand Letter regarding the alleged infringement of a competitor’s trademarks, copyrighted content, and trade secrets?
These are a few examples of the legal risks the growth companies face in their brand development efforts. As General Counsel and Chief Compliance officer of the private equity firm WM Partners, LP, Mr. Robinson managed the domestic and international trademark portfolios of the combined portfolio companies operating as Wellnext, LLC (which company was sold to Clorox in 2018 and n/k/a the Clorox’s Nutranext Division). Wellnext LLC was a vertically integrated manufacturer (Natures Products Inc), marketer, and owner of dietary supplements, natural care, and wellness brands in the following verticals:
- Sports nutrition (Champion Performance®);
- Herbal formulations (Blessed Herbs®, Vitamin Research Products®),
- Anti-stress (Natural Vitality®),
- Probiotics (Nutri-health Supplements®, Sedona Labs®, Sedona Pro®),
- Women’s and prenatal vitamins (Rainbow Light®), and
- Anti-aging (Stop Aging Now®).
Mr. Robinson will leverage the wealth of knowledge regarding brand development and protection he developed as General Counsel for Wellnext LLC to advise your business on building a brand that will deter infringers and enable your business to maximize its goodwill. He will advise you regarding the following aspects of your efforts to build and protect your brand, among others:
- Select a brand that can be a foundation for growth. Mr. Robinson will advise you on the registrability and infringement risk for prospective marks as a part of the application process to obtain a certificate of registration from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Often, fast-growing businesses underestimate the “hidden costs” associated with poor due diligence regarding infringement risks for a prospective mark. They discover these “hidden costs” only after they have invested significant money and time in building an online and/or brick-and-mortar presence and investing significant money in inventory that is labeled with the company’s brand and/or a website that describes the company’s services branded with the disputed trademark. These risks are avoidable. Mr. Robinson will take a comprehensive view of your brand building goals and will advise you in selecting a mark that will serve as a solid foundation for the value that you intend to build for your company. Also, Mr. Robinson will leverage his experience as General Counsel to aggressively prosecute your applications for trademark registration, including responding to USPTO office actions and defending applications from Opposition Proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
- Due Diligence for Purchase of Intellectual Property in Asset Purchase Transactions. If organic growth is too slow for your company, you may choose to grow through the acquisitions of business assets. As General Counsel and Chief Compliance officer of the private equity firm WM Partners, LP, Mr. Robinson performed due diligence regarding intellectual property assets purchased by the WM Funds as a part of numerous asset purchase transactions of middle-market brands in the Life Sciences Industry. He will leverage this experience to help your company the combined portfolio companies realize the full value of the target’s goodwill by identifying and minimizing the legal risks associated with the target’s intellectual property assets.
- Enforce Your Intellectual Property Rights. Equally as important as selecting trademarks that will be a foundation for growth is protecting your trademarks, copyrighted content, and trade secrets against the unauthorized use by competitors online and in brick-and-mortar commercial environments and the unfounded claims that you have infringed the intellectual property rights of others. Mr. Robinson will prosecute in state and federal court those who violate your trademarks, copyrighted content, and trade secrets as well as defend you against claims of infringement, including, but not limited to, defending Cancellation Proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) and using proceedings for the enforcement of the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy to seize infringing domain names.
The key to effective brand development is being proactive. Do not hesitate or vacillate. Contact Mr. Robinson today for a free consultation to begin the process of selecting a brand that can be a foundation for growth and enforcing your intellectual property rights.
