- Did Aiden straighten her hair today.
All right, it's a bones day, get out there.
Is it curly?
Oof, maybe we should have stayed in bed.
(bright guitar music)
Hello friends.
Welcome back to All Up In Yo' Business.
I'm business and branding attorney Aiden Durham
with 180 Law Co in Colorado.
And it's that time again, my favorite time of the month.
We are going to rifle through your comments
and answer some of your great questions.
Now, bear with me through this, you guys,
because it is Friday
over here at All Up In Yo' Business.
I'm posting this on a Wednesday, of course,
but I'm filming it on a Friday.
And you guys, Friday Aiden is either very productive
or very lazy.
And if the curly hair isn't a dead giveaway,
we're getting lazy Aiden today.
It's kind of like, that's a noodles, the dog,
bones, no bones thing.
You know, if noodle has bones,
it's bones day and everyone's excited and productive.
If it's a no bones day, then, you know,
it's a sad day and everyone stays home.
Kinda like that.
Did Aiden straighten her hair today?
All right, it's a bones day.
Get out there.
Is it curly?
Oof, maybe we should have stayed in bed.
But, alas, here we are on a Friday curly hair nonetheless.
Before we get into your questions,
make sure you check the description for links
to additional information and resources.
You can download my brand new, all freshened up,
Brandish Trademark Guide for free.
Link in the description.
Be sure to subscribe if you haven't already done so
and hit that little notification bell
so you don't miss any future episodes
of All Up In Yo' Business or any future episodes
where I might be answering your questions.
And if you're, I don't know bored,
looking for something to do,
if you're watching this on your computer, or your TV,
why don't you get your phone out
and, you know, pull up Instagram and search
@allupinyobusiness and gimme a follow.
Let's be friends.
All right, enough of that nonsense,
let's get into your questions.
Question, if I have a LLC and I added a DBA,
could someone use my DBA name for their LLC,
or does the DBA under my LLC stop them
from access of the name?
So this is something that I kind of touched on,
on my last episode
where I talked about LLCs versus trademarks.
But registering a LLC name really for the most part
only prevents somebody from registering that exact same name
including the LLC designation in that same state.
Same idea pretty much goes for DBAs.
If you register a DBA or a trade name,
in most states that won't prevent somebody
from registering that same name as their LLC
or corporation name.
So of course it always depends on the state.
There might be some states where that is the case
but for the most part, as far as I know, no.
Having a DBA won't prevent somebody else
from using that DBA in their LLC name.
Are member contributions tax free?
Typically, yes, but it depends.
Not all member contributions are going to be void
of any tax implications.
So it depends.
Chat with a tax expert.
What can I do if I've got some business expenses
on my personal account by accident?
Best thing to do, you can reimburse yourself
from your business account to try to make it right
and then be extra careful moving forward
to not accidentally use your personal account
for business expenses.
You know what I really like?
And I might take this tactic on a few things.
I have a lot of fun answering just the questions
that are asked.
If you ever worked with a lawyer
in any kind of legal dispute or lawsuit,
if you've ever been in a deposition,
you've probably been advised by a lawyer
answer only the question that's asked.
Don't volunteer any additional information,
answer just the question that's asked.
I like doing that.
I might start doing that.
I want to trademark a name as an actress, like a stage name.
I've been using this name on Instagram and casting websites.
I would also use this name
when I get into writing books and blogs.
Anything important I should know?
Also for this, does the font theme matter when submitting
if I'm using the name in this way?
All right, so going back to the whole thing
of I'm only gonna answer the question that's asked.
Anything important I should know before I apply?
Yes, there are a lot of important things you should know
before you apply.
Talk to a trademark lawyer
or you can check out BRANDISH, my online DIY course
which will help to teach you a lot of those things
that you should know before you apply.
And does the font matter?
If you are submitting a trademark
as a Standard Character Mark, then the font doesn't matter.
I just found your page
and the information is extremely helpful.
Thank you.
I just started a sole proprietorship
but it looks like I may need to change to an LLC.
Is there a way to transfer a change from sole prop
into LLC or do you have to completely start over, brand new?
You don't have to start over.
You can kind of change your sole proprietorship to an LLC.
I made a few videos about this.
I've posted one recently.
I will link to that in the description
and put up a little card on that side.
I don't know, there'll be a card here for that.
But, yes, you can.
You don't have to start brand new.
You would form an LLC
and then some things you have to kind of transition
or transfer over to the LLC from your sole proprietorship.
So check out that video for more.
So when a client wants to pay for a service
under the DBA name,
they would write the check to the LLC name or the DBA name?
It depends on what the bank has and will accept.
If you tell the bank that you operate under an LLC name
and a DBA name,
typically they'll allow you to accept checks under both.
If they only have the LLC name,
then you should only be accepting checks under the LLC name.
If you only have the DBA name with the bank
then you should only accept payment under the DBA name.
Otherwise, if it's both
then you can accept payment under either or both,
that's fine.
Second question from the same person,
how many DBAs can you have under your LLC?
As far as I know, there are no rules or limits.
You can have as many DBAs as you would like.
Of course, check with an attorney in your state.
There might be some state that has restrictions
as far as I know, there aren't.
So this is a trademark question.
I've discussed in previous videos
about specimens for trademarks
and how the mark needs to appear the same on the application
as it does in the specimen and as you're using it.
So for use appear different,
does that include color variations?
For example, we're trademarking a purple, yellow
and blue logo.
Our paper tags, the logo appears in the same color
but on our products, it's in different colors.
So with color variations for a design, like a logo,
if you submit the application
and claim color as feature of the mark
then the color of the mark in the drawing
needs to be exactly the same as the color in the specimen.
If there's a difference in color
then the U.S. PTO won't accept it.
But if you submit the drawing on a black and white
or gray scale and do not claim color
as a feature of the mark,
then on the specimen, the logo can be in whatever color
or colors you want it to be.
Second question from this same person.
For date of first use in commerce,
does it include first time used on social media,
on website, first use for presale of products,
or only when the product is actually purchasable?
Presale is not typically considered use of a trademark,
neither is just launching a website
or launching social media accounts.
This isn't a strict rule
but the easiest way to think about it
is when the product is actually available for purchase.
That's when you've started using the trademark
in connection with that product.
I have a good question for you.
I'll be the judge of that, thank you.
Is it possible to change the filing date
after I receive a response to office action?
The reason for that is I don't have any pictures
to prove the first use in commerce anywhere?
To change the filing date,
no, you can't change the filing date on your application.
You can sometimes change the date of first use.
You can amend the data first use
if you put the data of first use incorrectly
but if you don't have proof of use,
then there wouldn't be a date because you're not using it.
What you can do is amend your filing basis to a 1B
or intent to use filing basis
and then you'll have time, six months at least
before you might have to submit that proof.
So if you're not already using the trademark in commerce
then your best bet is to amend to a 1B intent to use basis.
Can you be under 18 to register an LLC?
It depends.
It depends on a number of things.
It depends on what you mean by register a LLC.
Can you be under 18 to own or be a member of an LLC?
Yeah, at least in most states.
As far as I know, there are no states
that say you have to be 18 to be a member of an LLC.
That is sometimes different from registering
or forming or organizing an LLC though.
Many states, if they define an organizer,
many states will require the organizer to be 18 or older.
Some states might require a manager to be 18 or older
like a manager managed LLC.
Pretty much all states,
I'm almost certain all states require the registered agent
to be 18 or older.
But as far as being a member, yeah, a child,
someone under 18 can be a member of an LLC.
Is that a good thing to do is other question.
There are a lot of issues that can come up with that
because minors signing contracts
and in binding legal agreements gets iffy,
and that's not always a good thing to do.
So it depends, it depends.
It depends kind of yes but also no, it depends.
Can you explain this to me?
No claim is made to the exclusive right
to use the following
apart from the mark as shown, restaurant.
I am confused, what does this mean?
So this is a disclaimer in a trademark.
This is the language that we see for a disclaimer
in a trademark registration.
I've done previous video talking solely about disclaimers
so if you want more info check back for that.
But basically when you see this in a trademark registration
or if you are asked for a disclaimer,
it's usually a disclaimer of a descriptive term.
So in this case, I would imagine the trademark
is a restaurant or some kind of food service,
and their trademark includes the word restaurant.
That word describes their goods and services
so it has to be disclaimed.
All that means is that you don't have any exclusive right
to use that disclaimed term
except for how it's being used in your trademark.
In other words, you can't take down
or go after somebody else
who's also using the word restaurant
just because they're using the word restaurant.
You're not claiming any exclusive rights to restaurant
except for how it's used exactly in your trademark.
My husband's logo designer told he won't give him the rights
to his logo and that he has to let him file
for the trademark for $1,200.
Can he do that?
He can withhold the rights to a logo
if you hire somebody to design a logo for you.
It is very, very important that you have a contract
with that designer that says that they are assigning
or transferring all of the right title and interest
in the work that they created,
some language to the effect saying
that you as the person who hired this designer,
you get all the rights
and you can use the logo however want, or in some way.
If that's not the case,
if you don't have something in writing
then yeah, technically the designer owns the rights
to the logo.
The second part of having the designer file
the trademark for 1200, that's wrong.
If the designer's not using the logo as a trade trademark,
then the designer shouldn't be filing an application
as if he is using it as a trademark.
So the first part, yeah, he can do that.
The second, no, he can't.
Thanks for this video.
If I wanna trademark my business name,
logo, and website name,
do I need to complete three different applications?
Yes, each trademark is its own application.
A business name is its own trademark.
A logo is a trademark.
A website name is probably,
I'm assuming is actually a trademark here.
But three separate trademarks, three separate applications.
Do you have to have a licensed business
to apply for a trademark?
Nope, doesn't matter if you're registered, licensed.
I mean, if you're running a business and you to be licensed
for some other reason then you should have a license.
But as far as the trademark goes,
nope, U.S. PTO doesn't care if you have a license or not.
You can be a sole proprietorship, a general partnership.
As long as you're using the trademark as a trademark,
that's pretty much all that mattered.
Hi Aiden, excellent, thank you so much for your insight.
Does the operating agreement
replace a partnership agreement?
I'm setting up an LLC for my partner and I to manage.
Should we have a separate partnership agreement?
No, so the operating agreement
does replace a partnership agreement.
A partnership agreement we would typically see
in a general or maybe a limited partnership.
Operating agreement is the same kind of idea but in an LLC.
So yeah, you don't need a operating agreement
and a partnership agreement typically with an LLC.
Thank you so much for your brilliance and guidance.
You're welcome.
What's your take on this new world of protection
in the form of things like NFTs
instead of copyrights or trademarks?
Do you think traditional methods are still stronger?
So this is a well timed question.
I am going to be putting up a video in the next few weeks
where I talk about NFTs.
It's not a question of NFTs
instead of copyrights or trademarks.
It's NFTs and copyrights or trademarks.
How do NFTs apply with copyright and trademark law?
'Cause, you know, ultimately I'm gonna talk about this more.
But ultimately NFTs are protectable by copyrights
and trademarks just like anything else.
So stay tuned, I will cover this eventually.
Hello, I already have a trademark
with a bag, backpack, wallet and so on.
My question is can I use this trademark
to the different product like lipstick?
So I'm this person has a trademark registration,
I'm assuming, registered with respect to bags,
backpacks, wallets, and so on.
Can they use it also
with respect to other products like lipstick?
Can you? Yeah.
Will your trademark registration apply
and protect your use with those other products?
Not necessarily, it depends.
Best thing to do if you want to use your trademark
on different types of products would be to register
or apply again to register the trademark
with respect to those other goods and services.
Love your videos.
Thank you.
Question, did you say that trademark
cannot be a group of words together
like Toy Mover?
No, I did not, that's perfectly fine.
Words can be separated or together, that's totally fine.
All right, we did it, you guys.
Well, somehow I've managed to make it through this
without quitting or falling asleep.
All right, well, hope you guys had fun.
I had a great time.
If you learned a thing or two,
why don't you gimme a little thumbs up
and make sure you subscribe
and check the little, you know, the little bell
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What other stuff am I supposed to say?
Smash that like button.
Follow me on Insta.
Check the description for links
to additional information and resources, free guides,
all kinds of good stuff for you guys down there.
Thank you so much for watching.
I'm Aiden Durham and I will see you next time.
(bright upbeat music)