Andrei Mincov

Courts are not very sympathetic to entrepreneurs who suddenly remember that their brand is worth something when someone else made a lot of money using it.

Courts are not very sympathetic to entrepreneurs who suddenly remember that their brand is worth something when someone else made a lot of money using it.

Yeah. Coca-Cola is literally one of my favorite examples. I will remember it by heart. You wake me up in the middle all the night. I'll tell you. They trademarked their brand back in 1892, which is incidentally the year when they just set up a company and when they were selling nine drinks a day.

Yeah. Coca-Cola is literally one of my favorite examples. I will remember it by heart. You wake me up in the middle all the night. I'll tell you. They trademarked their brand back in 1892, which is incidentally the year when they just set up a company and when they were selling nine drinks a day.

I call it a lemonade stand with a dream because all they had is this idea that, hey, if we are going to spend any time, money, and effort trying to build those into... a brand, a national brand, we might as well own it. And trademarks is the only type of intellectual property that you can own forever in theory. Copyrights expire, patents expire, design patents, everything expires.

I call it a lemonade stand with a dream because all they had is this idea that, hey, if we are going to spend any time, money, and effort trying to build those into... a brand, a national brand, we might as well own it. And trademarks is the only type of intellectual property that you can own forever in theory. Copyrights expire, patents expire, design patents, everything expires.

Trademarks, you can renew and renew and renew. So they've been renewing that same trademarks since 1892. And I can bet that there was a lot of people back there who looked at them and said, why are you – bothering spending money on lawyers to trademark this stuff. It's just a drink.

Trademarks, you can renew and renew and renew. So they've been renewing that same trademarks since 1892. And I can bet that there was a lot of people back there who looked at them and said, why are you – bothering spending money on lawyers to trademark this stuff. It's just a drink.

Yeah, for sure. The more recent one, which really highlights the value of getting it done right and early, there's this startup called Bird, the electric scooters. You see them everywhere. They were, back in 2021, recognized as the fastest company to grow to a billion-dollar valuation. They knew a thing or two about building a successful business.

Yeah, for sure. The more recent one, which really highlights the value of getting it done right and early, there's this startup called Bird, the electric scooters. You see them everywhere. They were, back in 2021, recognized as the fastest company to grow to a billion-dollar valuation. They knew a thing or two about building a successful business.

So what they did is they started the company and 13 days later, after they started the company, they filed their trademark. Before they launched, before they had their first scooter made, before they, like, I don't know if they had an office back in the day or not, 13 days. Again, because they asked themselves a question, will the brand be important to us if we are to become successful?

So what they did is they started the company and 13 days later, after they started the company, they filed their trademark. Before they launched, before they had their first scooter made, before they, like, I don't know if they had an office back in the day or not, 13 days. Again, because they asked themselves a question, will the brand be important to us if we are to become successful?

And the answer to that was, of course, because if anyone can put a scooter and put the same brand on it, we can't have a viable business model because people are going to be confused and they can't operate like this. And so they said, yeah, brand is going to be important. We want to build it into something that will become big. And so they went and trademarked it.

And the answer to that was, of course, because if anyone can put a scooter and put the same brand on it, we can't have a viable business model because people are going to be confused and they can't operate like this. And so they said, yeah, brand is going to be important. We want to build it into something that will become big. And so they went and trademarked it.

And now it's part of the billion dollar valuation.

And now it's part of the billion dollar valuation.

So there are extreme cases when you file what's called an unconventional trademark, like if you want to trademark a smell or if you want to trademark a sound. So there's significantly more that goes into those. But those are like a fraction of a fraction of 1%. Whether it's name, logo, or tagline, the normal ones. With Trademark Factory, it's the same thing.

So there are extreme cases when you file what's called an unconventional trademark, like if you want to trademark a smell or if you want to trademark a sound. So there's significantly more that goes into those. But those are like a fraction of a fraction of 1%. Whether it's name, logo, or tagline, the normal ones. With Trademark Factory, it's the same thing.

And really, that's where the name Trademark Factory was born. Because I asked myself a question. If Bill Gates goes to McDonald's and wants to order a Big Mac, are they going to charge him... 10 times more just because he has more money? No, right? They're going to charge him the exact same thing. And I realized for business owners, for entrepreneurs, a trademark is a trademark.

And really, that's where the name Trademark Factory was born. Because I asked myself a question. If Bill Gates goes to McDonald's and wants to order a Big Mac, are they going to charge him... 10 times more just because he has more money? No, right? They're going to charge him the exact same thing. And I realized for business owners, for entrepreneurs, a trademark is a trademark.