milrtyme24 Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Ok Im on my laptop now, I use my Ipad for just about everything except I cant get it to work good on this site. On my previous post if you let your mouse hover over the topic then you can read it but if you click on it you can just read a few words, all I can say is newbie. I have trouble posting pics to. Do you have to put them on another site then download them to this site or what. I was just wanting to show you guys my first bait I poured 2 months ago and then a pic of the last bait I poured lastnight. Critics are welcome as I view that as a learning tool, well most of it except the bs...haha. Anyway I was asking about using my nickname when I do start a lure company one day,and dont under estimate me, you guys have got me addicted and Im determined, like I said Ive already spent 3 grand and still am a long ways away. I just want to thank all of you guys and a few ladies that have contributed and I will pass on something I learn if its not on this site but there is a lot of info on this site but Ill help in any way I can. If you could not read the previous post I was wondering if I could use Milrtyme Custom Lures as my name without any legal issues from Miller Beer. That was my nickname in high school so its kinda stuck with me. If anybody wants to tell me how to post a pic I would be glad for the help, I know the info is on this site I just have to find it. Thanks again. Any other name ideas are welcome to, I just want to include the Custom Lures in it. Im also studying the format here to, do you just click on attach files to add a pic or Im just going to have to find it and read it. Ok going to try a test a pic test. Should be a pic of a swimbait I poured recently. And the very first one I poured almost 2 months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) As a small lure making concern, you might get away with it. But if your business grows, it is going to be more than inconvenient to rename your business when Miller find out and send you a cease and desist notice. Don't you have to register for company names? The problem should be picked up at that stage, but I am not an expert. If you are dead set on the name, you should seek legal advice. Dave Edited July 22, 2011 by Vodkaman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milrtyme24 Posted July 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 As a small lure making concern, you might get away with it. But if your business grows, it is going to be more than inconvenient to rename your business when Miller find out and send you a cease and desist notice. Don't you have to register for company names? The problem should be picked up at that stage, but I am not an expert. If you are dead set on the name, you should seek legal advice. Dave Thanks Dave, I always enjoy reading your topics. I love swimbaits and your theories on vortex and stuff like that is a little over my head but I try my best to understand what you mean. One day I would like to design a wooden swimbait but Im trying to get the plastic down first. Thanks for you advice. I agree if it stays small they probably wouldnt notice but if it grew I might have a problem, I really like the name. One other question you might be able to help me with, if I accidently name one of my baits the same name as someone else has then I could be in the wrong, I dont believe in copying a bait and changing it a little then say its mine I think thats wrong but what Im doing right now is ordering molds from kevin at basstackle and I talked to him and he said that what is business is about, making molds to sell then you can call the bait whatever because he doesnt care about the patent he just cares about selling molds so im covered there. Legal issues is what I need to study about and thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Bait names (and miller time) are covered by trademark laws (I think). There is a ton if information on the web. Some of it is easy reading, some more legal and technical. You need to read up on trademarks, copyrights and patents. If you Google 'what is ...' or 'examples of ...' or 'how to ...' this will limit your search to relevant information, still a lot of heavy reading. All three have to be registered in order to qualify for protection. What I would do, is Google the name that I am interested in, to see what is out there. Although not conclusive, it gives you a good indication of whether you have a chance, before undertaking the official registration process. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishoey Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 milrtyme24- I might help a little here. I work in marketing and graphic design, so I know a little about this. I will say Dave gives good advice and I would do your own research and talk to an attorney if you are concerned. Check .org sites online (government maintained), there are some really good ones out there which will lead you step-by-step in all areas of starting a business. Miller Time / Milrtyme Question: MillerCoors (what they are called now) trademarked "Miller Time" to sell beer. If you are going to TM "Milrtyme", as long as no one else has it, it will be yours for a fee. Now, if you are going around saying "it's Milrtyme" come buy my juicy worms in print ads or on the radio... this may flag someone and you will be receiving a nice piece of stiff paper from a man in a suit. The BIGGEST question is, are you profiting from their TM. Did MillerCoors spend millions on a campaign, and now you are able to use a play-on-words and capture their audience which was exposed to the TM / Campaign? They say in art if you change something 40% it is yours. However in business this is not the case. I had a client go the cheap route on their logo and had another marketing agency tailor an existing logo (HUGE NO, NO... especially in the same industry). The only thing they changed was the first word, They kept the same characterized letter "i" in the new word, color, second word and font were all the same. I was approached to modify the logo to keep her out of court once she was threatened with a lawsuit. I changed the character and font, probably altering the logo 60-70% enough to separate hers from the suing parties. Still a no go! The suing party didn't want her to have ANY type of remotely looking "i" character. Basically, they would leave it up to a jury if she didn't change it. We changed it again and they approved removing the character altogether. I should point out the suing party's logo was TM. There are two points to my story. First, someone can sue you for anything if they feel like it is infringing on their rights or TM no matter how absurd it may be (they definitely had a right in the above story). Second, I cannot tell you how much this, "money saving piggy-backing" of someone else's logo cost her in the long run. She had been in business 3 years, so EVERYTHING had to change, billboards, pamphlets, door graphics, tradeshow display... plus a LOT more. It is best to start from something original. I always say when you are thinking of an idea and you have to stop and say, "I wonder if "X" Company will mind if I use "X"?" ... pretty much that is your cue to start thinking in another direction. Keep your idea simple and directed toward your product(s). Try to be meaningful to a few (niche) and not everything to everybody. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 Great post Fishoey. That is pretty much what I remember reading when I was researching the subject a year ago. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
