Anatomy of an Influencer Endorsement Contract

6/24/19

If you have a dedicated following in your niche market, you might have dipped your toe in the affiliate pond, creating sponsored content with brands that you adore or just plain believe in. Or, you’ve found the perfect ambassador for your brand. Someone with a decent sized following that is (more importantly) very engaged. You know your sales will take off after affiliating with this influencer.

Sound familiar? Then this post is for you. It dissects some important provisions that a … Continue reading →

legal lessons about online marketing

Online Marketing Lessons from Fyre Festival

5/29/19

By now, you’ve seen the documentaries. (One aired on Netflix; the other, on Hulu.) It’s the kind of story you end up watching with your hands partly covering your eyes, for several reasons. That the situation departed from the planned luxury music festival experience is an understatement. To go from advertising a private villa experience to directing customers to rescue … Continue reading →

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Trademark Toolkit: An Educational Resource

4/12/19

It’s no secret that trademark is one of my favorite topics. Trademarks are everywhere we look — from your Apple TV home screen to your Pinterest feed. In this trademark toolkit, we’ll talk about what exactly is a trademark, the nitty gritty on trademark searches, and things like domain names and trademark registration. Of course, this is educational. If you have a specific legal question, please … Continue reading →

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Trademark Scams and How to Avoid Them

2/27/19

Becoming the owner of a registered trademark has its perks. Plus, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office mails you a fancy certificate with a gold seal. In recent years, though, along with that certificate, the USPTO started sending out warnings. Warnings of trademark scams.

Usually sent on an orange piece of paper along with the registration certificate, the notice warns of “misleading offers and notices from private companies.” The … Continue reading →

A Legal Checklist for Selling on Etsy

1/31/19

Etsy is the first place that pops into mind when I want to find a special gift or something created by a small business owner. Want to open up shop yourself? This month’s blog post introduces Spear IP’s Essential Legal Checklist for Selling on Etsy.

Here’s a brief description of the topics you should expect from the Essential Legal Checklist for Selling on Etsy.

Business Structure

A lot of folks find themselves weighing the pros and cons of sole proprietorship versus something more … Continue reading →

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How to Choose a Strong Trademark

11/28/18

What is a strong trademark? The main thing to know about a strong trademark is that it enjoys a lot of trademark protection. (Compared to a weak trademark, which isn’t as protectable.) Put differently, a strong trademark is not “cooler” than a weak trademark, it’s just easier to police and protect. This is because of some little legal terms: “distinctiveness” and “secondary meaning.” So how do you choose a strong trademark? It helps to understand the characteristics of strong and … Continue reading →

Spear IP Third Anniversary Year Four

And Now for Year Four

8/15/18

Wow! It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that Spear IP celebrates its third anniversary this month. Here’s a look back at the great opportunities year three brought with it, and a peek at what’s in store for year number four.

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Does Copyright Law Apply to My Business?

7/25/18

You’re vaguely familiar with the concept of copyright law. It’s for fine artists — musicians, painters, filmmakers — right? Yes, but copyright law can apply to so much more. This post is a quick review of what copyright law protects and some of the non-traditional content that might fall under the umbrella of copyright protection.

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What the SCOTUS Sales Tax Ruling Really Means

6/27/18

Last week (specifically, on Thursday, June 21, 2018), the Supreme Court ruled on a South Dakota law relating to the collection of sales tax for online purchases. Cue a frenzy of brands and online retailers trying to decipher what this SCOTUS sales tax ruling really means. Here’s a breakdown of the decision.