Tuesday, August 31, 2004
RE: Fast Company "educates" Kirsten about trademark law -- an update
If you are just joining us and have not yet heard about our recent "go to the mattresses event" with Fast Company, debrief with a quick read of THIS RECENT BLOG ENTRY.
Last Friday, I finally received an email response from none other than Heath Row, editor of Fast Company's Fast Take e-newsletter and blog. Now Heath and I have had kind debates before. And I respect Heath. In fact, I used one of Heath's quotes about re:invention in my blog design for several months because it specifically stated I was not a feminist and that rather amused me.
Here is what Heath wrote:
From: Heath Row [HRow@fastcompany.com]
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 4:49 PM
To: Kirsten Osolind
Subject: RE: Fast Company email
Kirsten,
Linda Tischler passed your email on to me. Thanks for touching base! I think your challenges and concerns can be cleared up relatively easily. And, as editor of Fast Take, I wanted to personally address them because we've exchanged emails in the past.
After checking in with a colleague on our legal team, it's relatively clear that Fast Company has not committed any trademark or copyright infringment -- much less "illegally" used or "stole" any names or marks as you indicate. First, it is not trademark infringement for Fast Company to use the phrase "Re:Invention" as a subject line for the Fast Take newsletter. Trademark (or service mark) infringement only occurs when a name is used in a way that causes a likelihood of confusion or mistake among consumers, or where there is an intent to deceive them. You have indeed filed an application to register the service mark "Re:Invention" to identify business marketing and consulting services. In contrast, Fast Company used the phrase "Re:Invention" once as a play on the term "reinvention" in an editorial context. Both the name and the use are entirely different, and there is no likelihood of confusion created.
Secondly, copyright infringement occurs when there is unauthorized (and intentional) copying of a substantial portion of a copyrighted work. The title of the book "Brand Aid" that you refer to is not protected by copyright law. You can't actually copyright titles. Use of that phrase as a subject line for a Fast Take newsletter, as a pun on a well-known brand, is not copyright infringement and would not constitute trademark infringement even if the author had trademarked the term, which he hasn't.
I hope this helps clear things up. If you have further questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
Heath
Heath Row | Editorial and Community Director
Fast Company | fastcompany.com
And here is my kind response:From: Kirsten Osolind
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 7:33 PM
To: 'Heath Row' [HRow@fastcompany.com]
Cc: LTischler@fastcompany.com; Cenar, Kara; Washelesky, Angela; JByrne@fastcompany.com
Subject: Fast Company and re:invention trademark - a response
Hello Heath:
Thank you for your thoughtful, educational reply!
However, I respectfully disagree with your perspective, Heath. First, Fast Take used the re:invention mark multiple times in the Fast Take newsletter, not simply in the subject line. The very first day the Fast Take e-newsletter was emailed, re:invention received several emails and phone calls from clients and business associates expressing confusion over Fast Take's use of re:invention's brand name. Furthermore, I believe Fast Company and re:invention both compete within the marketing/business strategy category - even though Fast Company is for the most part a media entity - particularly since re:invention is now an editorial-content brand with our blog and my monthly marketing column in Entrepreneur Magazine. I do believe there was damaging dilution of the re:invention mark as a direct result of its inclusion in the Fast Take e-newsletter.
I'll expect that no further use of the re:invention mark will occur, and take your email, Heath, as an indication that you and Fast Company have consulted with your legal team, are fully aware of our trademark rights, and that you will not use the re:invention mark in the future (in editorial context or otherwise).
Wishing you a productive and successful week, Heath. And as always, please let me know what I can do for you or Fast Company.
kindly,
kirsten
CEO and KCC
re:invention, inc.
It took great restraint for me not to fire back a message to Heath saying that if I needed an education in trademark law I would have asked for one rather than sending a letter telling Fast Company that they had violated our company trademark. Rise above it all and remain direct AND kind.
The lessons for readers who may face future trademark rights issues:1. Don't waiver from your position that use of your trademark is inappropriate -- stay on message.
2. Demonstrate a claim that you compete in the same market or space, to show that the use of the trademark caused damage to your brand.
3. Demonstrate damage to your brand by providing details about actual client or consumer confusion based on the trademark violation.
4. Where possible put it in writing -- a letter from your attorney is best. I copied my attorney here based on Heath's email communication to me.
5. In general, close your letter with a concrete call to action and a timeline. I didn't do this very well. Shame on me! Hopefully I can remedy this with a future email or better yet, a registered letter.
P.S. Just received word that Clemson will be using the re:invention/Fast Company intellectual property plight as an example in their New Venture Creation class. Pretty Cool and Thanks!
Monday, August 30, 2004
RE: The New "Fair Pay" Rules and Overtime
Effective August 23, ALL small business owners must now follow the new Fair Pay Rules about paying employees overtime. Workers earning less than $23,660 per year - or $455 per week - are guaranteed overtime protection. Those who earn $100,000 generally do not have to be paid overtime.
If you are a small business owner with employees, I implore you to learn more about the new Fair Pay Rules, by visiting the Labor Department's website. The site contains definitions of the new Fair Pay Rules and overtime standards, fact sheets, and guidelines for exceptions.
It is NOT as easy as looking at salary. Certain occupations are exempt. And an employer can make discretionary deductions from a worker's pay for things like lateness and impact their overtime qualifications. Technically all small business owners already need to be compliant with the new rules -- but it appears the Labor Department is offering a grace period before they begin imposing penalties.
I didn't know. Did you??
Other "Fair Pay" news headlines today? According to USA Today, the gender pay gap widened in 2003 for the first time in 4 years. For every dollar a man made in 2003, women made 75.5 cents. Yvonne has a great analysis over at Lipsticking. We touched on this story back in June when news of the report leaked. The gap widens between women and men in higher income brackets. Among the ranks of high earners, such as chief executives, women make 55 cents on the dollar compared to men.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
RE: What to Do When Fast Company "Borrows" Your Emerging Company Name
Bluer than my blueberry today. Want to know why? It's the old tale of D'Avida and Goliath. Last week big, bad, Fast Company Magazine "borrowed" the re:invention company name.
Now I know how Susan Brenner felt (another Chicago woman entrepreneur - a pottery merchant - who challenged Donald Trump on the trademark line "you're fired!").
At re:invention we've strongly touted the importance of protecting your intellectual property. We believed in patents, trademarks, servicemarks, and copyrights and encouraged our clients to protect their brand fiercely in case of illegal use. We spent a sizeable portion of our small business budget trademarking the name re:invention with the colon, confident that it would help us protect our company name and intellectual property.
If you are joining us for the first time, I've been quite fond of saying that there are 4 keys to securing seed funding. Intellectual property is #1, followed by first mover advantage, a unique idea, and a talented management team.
So you can imagine my dismay when I opened my Fast Company Fast Take e-newsletter last week. This is what I saw:
Alas, Fast Company had used my company name as the title of their weekly e-newsletter and continued to use the trademark as part of the e-newsletter contents. Funny, I thought to myself. During my days as National Marketing Director at Whole Foods Market we needed to jump through circus hoops to trademark search our e-newsletter name. I was surprised that Fast Company had not done that same due diligence. One can only guess that Fast Company has a sizeable distribution list -- 100 to 200K subscribers -- not to mention the viral forwards. Plenty of exposure, confusion = significant dilution of our brand value.
Immediately I sent a kind but concerned personal letter to John Byrne, Fast Company's Editor. His email address is: jbyrne@fastcompany.com.
Dear John (I said...)
Hope this finds you well. While I am a loyal evangelist of Fast Company, and I want to support your publication as I am in media, I bring sad news to your attention today. Today Fast Company used re:invention's trademark name to headline the Fast Take enewsletter. re:invention, inc. owns the legal trademark use of the word re:invention with the colon. I am surprised and disappointed.
Wanted to bring it to your attention on a personal basis before I forward it on to our legal team at Sachnoff & Weaver (our attorney serves on the Copyright Society's board of trustees) and a principal at Welsh & Katz, a Chicago-based intellectual property law firm, who serves on re:invention's new advisory board.
Kindly,
Kirsten
A week later no response from John (in spite of my politely sending reminder notes every other day to John and a female member of the Fast Company team). Nothing. Zip. Zero. Dead Air. Not even a "Sorry chickie, we won't do it again."
Not to worry! I thought. I will contact my attorney who will surely advise me of recourse.
Her counsel?
It costs $5000 to file a complaint, and another $50,000 minimal to go to trial. Almost all trademark litigation is about getting the other company to "cease and desist." Damages are virtually impossible to prove - just too nebulous to attach a dollar figure of your lost profit attributable to the infringer's actions.
In other words, D'Avida can't throw a stone back at Goliath. So a trademark is really for the Big Boys in most cases.
So in spite of all the resources I can list here such as...
Definitions of patents, trademarks, servicemarks, and copyrightsThe U.S. Patent and Trademark OfficeFriends of the Active Copyright Association....In the end it really all comes down to a legal system that preserves the rights of big business and penalizes the little gal. With one exception: PR and good old fashioned negative evangelism. And if there is one thing that the blogging world is good for, it is negative PR.
This week Fast Company's e-newsletter "borrowed" the title BrandAid (also the copyright protected title of
Brad Vanauken's book).
Stayed tuned for updates! I believe this will be better than
our Google Adsense war!
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
RE: Better Than A Short Board. Try An Advisory Board for Extreme Surfing.
Recently stumbled across a smart letter to the editor from one Dan Limbach, CEO of Chicago's Siren Interactive. An excerpt from Dan's letter:
A good advisory board brings (at least) two things to the table (brains and influence). Sometimes money is a third benefit, especially if a board seat is a condition of the investor. All potential Advisory Board members should know the company well enough to genuinely believe in the business, and be prepared to answer the following two questions in the affirmative:
1) Will you faithfully attend quarterly board meetings (schedule permitting) and actively share your knowledge and expertise?
2) Will you actively recommend our products and services to your personal contacts in decision-making positions, and personally introduce us to them?
If any of them are investors, they should really be motivated to recommend the company to their contacts at the executive level. An association in name is good, but opening up the rolodex and making key introductions is exponentially better.
Couldn't agree with you more, Dan!
Starting an advisory board for your company can seem like a daunting task. When I started to build re:invention's advisory board, I looked to the experts around me. Here are 9 tips recapping what I've learned....
1. When it comes to recruitment, start with who you know -- and then expand your territory. The main things you want in an advisory board member?
- Contacts (industry/customers/investors)
- Expertise
- Perspective
- Prestige
- and last but not least...Valuable Input
Invite those you trust and know intimately but reach out to influential folks who could impact your business. Ask for introductions via your network or call them and tell them you are interested in speaking to them about your advisory board based on their achievements and influence. It might just open up doors.
2. Size IS important. Most experts suggest you need 5 - 10 advisors for an emerging business. 3 is really too few. 12 is simply too many.
3. Think diversity. Assemble a diverse team of experts that will help you achieve your company's mission. You want candid advice from diverse creative minds - not groupthink. For inquiring minds, yes, we have a man on re:invention's advisory board.
4. Don't feel pressured to pay advisors a fee. Board members can benefit from networking with one another and this can be motivation enough if your budget is tight. If you can pay them dough though or offer stock options, that's great too.
5. Hold face-to-face meetings at least twice a year in person. Other meetings can be conducted via conference calls. Aim for a meeting (live or via phone) per quarter.
6. Plan and abide by agendas for your board meetings to ensure productivity. Make sure the meetings have a specific agenda and measurable outcomes. Don't squander board time.
7. Appoint a board chairperson. As with a corporate board of directors, it helps to have someone jockey the agenda, facilitate the meetings, and hold the board to task. Make sure it is someone who really has a passion for the business. Someone you can count on, come rain or shine.
8. Set terms. One year worked best for re:invention's board.
9. Announce your board with fanfare. A press release is warranted.
A short list of resources to get you started:
Athena PowerlinkBoardroom BoundThe Board BookAnd did you know that NAWBO Chicago actually offers you a sample taste of an advisory board? If you are a NAWBO member, you can register for a 2-hour advisory board, free of charge. Click
HERE to download an application.
Click
HERE to read our press release about re:invention's advisory board.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
RE: Women entrepreneurs and fundraising - it's in fashion
Two articles this weekend about taking financial risks from in fashion entrepreneurs: one from a trendy designer, one from a woman who sells the world on trends and design. Appears raising funds is in fashion.
In this corner, an article appearing in the L.A. Times, an interview with former journalist Dany Levy who launched Daily Candy in 2000, recently funded with a multi-million dollar investment by Bob Pittman, former COO of AOL.
Dany's take on fundraising...."I never went the VC [venture capital] route. I started DailyCandy in 2000 with money I'd saved to go to business school. I operated on a very lean budget. I'd heard too many horror stories about venture capital."
In the second corner, appearing in the Chicago Tribune, an interview with Maria Pinto, relatively unknown Chicago fashion designer launching her second business (her first folded after 9/11).
Pinto sought out a handful of angel investors who provided capital in exchange for equity stakes in her holding company, Lola Black LLC, which is named for her cat. She controls more than 50 percent of the equity, but this way, the financial risk is shared. Her investors, whom she declines to name, include former customers and friends, she says. "They know what I did before, and they believe I'll do it better this time," Pinto said. "They aren't just angel investors. They are angel people."
Women and fundraising. It's in fashion.
P.S. Great quotes in the Tribune article, Mr. Barry Moltz!
Friday, August 20, 2004
RE: Forbes Announces 100 Most Powerful Women
Forbes announced their annual 100 Most Powerful Women list today. The list categories? Executives, heiresses, media/entertainment, presidents/prime ministers, queens, and wives. In that order.
According to results from a poll on the Special Report site, women CEOs are deemed the most powerful of those 6 categories (surprisingly not wives although I personally believe they wield a wicked stick). My hero Carly Fiorina makes the list. BE SURE TO CLICK ON THAT CARLY ENTRY! Susan Arnold (P&G), Christine Poon (Johnson & Johnson), Abigail Johnson (Fidelity), Marjorie Magner (Citigroup), Ann Moore (Time), and Patricia Russo (Lucent) are some of the featured women.
Forbes says the list defies the "conventional wisdom that a woman can gain power only by studiously working behind the scenes to forge consensus." List criteria? Title and resume, size of the economic sphere in which the woman wields power and the number of global media mentions.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
RE: Kindness and Injuries
A few words about kindness and injuries before bed.....
"Write injuries in sand, kindnesses in marble."
-French Proverb
RE: She Started Her Business With One Little Chicken
The next time you think you have it rough, click and read THIS ARTICLE. Mrs. Banda (a resident of Zambia) literally started her Professional Catering business with one little chicken. 18 years later, 
Mrs. Banda employs 130 workers, owns 12 cafeterias across the nation's capital, and was valued at $1.5 million US dollars by Enterprise Africa magazine. Not so shabby for a Zambian wife and mother who very likely considered frying up that chicken and feeding it to her 4 sons and husband. Especially in a country where the average life expectancy is only 33.1 years.
Sometimes all it takes is one little chicken, creative thinking...and 18 years.
Al Ries might like this story, considering his recent Ad Age article about building brands over time.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
RE: FWE's new CEO - Amy Love
The Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE) - self-billed as "the premier organization for women building and leading high-growth companies" - announced the appointment of Amy Love as its newest CEO yesterday. Amy Love is a Harvard MBA and Texas Tech grad (go Texas!). Her background includes technology, publishing and consumer products experience. Amy replaces outgoing CEO Susan Hailey who took up the helm in 2002.
I met Susan during June's Silicon Valley Springboard Venture Capital Forum event. A wonderful woman and I wish her well. Jnana Anderson, President of the FWE - Orange County organization, has recently agreed to host Springboard in December.
FWE is widely known as a support network for biosciences and tech companies. With the appointment of Ms. Love, a CPG guru, FWE's mission may morph. Could a FWE publication be in the works?
FWE is a great woman's organization worth a look!
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
RE: McColl Garella - women doing deals for women
"This is women doing deals for women."
Enter -- stage left -- Hugh McColl, the former Chief of Bank of America, has recently started a new investment bank that almost exclusively targets women. Investment banks serve as intermediaries, linking entrepreneurs with money and acting as a rough terrain guide during initial public stock offerings.
McColl Garella plans to set up a "women doing deals for women" consulting partner network of women investment bankers who formerly held senior positions at Wall Street firms, but left for a variety of reasons, such as wanting to spend more time with family. Those women bankers will be hired to work with women entrepreneurs across the U.S. Sounds amazingly like re:invention's associate network. Guess Mr. McColl is validating re:invention's business model.
In addition to the shared focus on women entrepreneurs, there are other surprising similarities between re:invention and McColl Garella. re:invention also has ties to Bank of America; Carol Nichols, Bank of America's SVP of Small Business Banking (Central Region) and co-founder of the Texas Women's Venture Fund, sits on re:invention's advisory board. And like re:invention, McColl Garella is virtual. Office and staff in Charlotte (Chicago for re:invention). But in remote office cities such as Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, and Boston, McColl Garella won't have actual employees.
Should make for an intriguing and productive breakfast meeting with Julie Garella, McColl Garella co-founder.
Monday, August 16, 2004
RE: Passionate Vision First, Tactics Later
What defines successful entrepreneurs? Passionate vision. Robert Baum, an assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, studied 120 entrepreneurs in Pennsylvania over a 3-year period and came to the following conclusion: those who were successful were dreamers with grand schemes. Without passionate vision, you fail. Passionate vision first, tactics later. Period.
"People who have a passionate vision for a promising business that might employ 10 to 100 people are the kind of dreamers who make it," Baum said in today's Answer Central article in Fortune Small Business. "The intensity of the vision is important."
Baum's paper, "Entrepreneurs' Start-up Cognitions and Behaviors: Dreams, Surprises, Shortages and Fast Zigzags," won an award from the National Federation of Independent Business earlier this year.
What is your passionate vision? Women don't often talk about vision -- we tend to focus on the journey. But perhaps we should take a moment to reflect on our vision today, in light of these findings.
My passionate vision (part i) - successfully revising my proformas so that my potential investors will be pleased.
My passionate vision (part ii) - building out re:invention's unconventional business model based on women entrepreneurs helping women entrepreneurs succeed. re:invention clients (women-led businesses with $1 million in revenues to Fortune 500 companies) are served via our nationwide network of women micro-business entrepreneurs (designers, publicists, and marketing strategists). Our goal is to shorten the time and money it takes for our clients to find experienced marketing advisors for their businesses. We serve as a business development arm and agency for our re:invention associates. We think it is high time for women to help pave the way for one another.
It's a nationwide movement, more than a company.
Note to "stay passionate" Tom over at Sandbox Wisdom....are Baum's new findings right up your alley or what?
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
RE: Desmond Tutu Revs Up The Feminine Revolution
Anglican archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu was quoted today as stating that the "feminine revolution" should take place SO THAT WOMEN COULD RULE THE WORLD.
"Some of the best initiatives are those that occur because women are involved." said Tutu in a tribute to women a day after Africa's Women's Day.
Tutu then said that the revolution to which he referred was one where women ... did not try too much to be like men.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
RE: From the road in L.A. -- Women's Biz Center Study Headlines
The Center for Women's Business Research announced findings from their "Launching Women-Owned Firms: A Longitudinal Study of Women's Business Center Clients" study today. Study methodology: phone and mail surveys with Women's Business Center clients (women emerging entrepreneurs) in 4 cities (Albuquerque, Boston, Chicago, & San Fran) from Jan-01 to Oct-03.
The study found the strongest relationship between frequent visits to Women's Business Centers and the development of skills in the areas of: (1) pricing of goods and services, (2) writing a business plan and (3) ability to expand markets. Women's Business Center clients were more likely to characterize their businesses as experiencing rapid growth (an increase from 2.3 to 2.7 during the course of the study with 4 being the fastest growth). Clients' ability to describe business competition also increased slightly (from 3.9 to 4.2 with 5 as the highest possible rating).
77% of those surveyed reported a positive impact on their self-confidence and personal lives.
Sometimes you just want to go where everybody knows your name.
Too bad Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) said "no" to legislation extending grants for established women's business centers. No new grants for the 53 centers that have completed their initial five-year financing period.
Click on the badge above to learn more. On Saturdays, we showcase wise women entrepreneurs. SHARE your 10 tips!
