When it comes to the law, we tend to think of our own rights, property rights, and responsibilities. Yet not so. In fact, one of the most important things that we can do as business owners, entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs-in-training is to educate our clients about the law. And in this case, it is more important than ever with the rise of new businesses and the rise of the “start-up” mentality in the last decade.
It’s difficult to say how much law knowledge is necessary for a person in business. I know this because when I first started my own business in the 1990s, I tried to keep up with the changes in the law, but it was a lot of work. I think that the more I learned about businesses and all the laws that are in place, the harder it was to stay ahead of the curve.
In my opinion, there is a lot of information you can glean through online resources. One of the best ways you can learn all the laws in the world is by reading them in their entirety. The more you read, the more you understand. If you can’t find an article, Google it, or the law, the law, or the law. Also be aware that there are some laws that have changed since I wrote this article.
A good rule of thumb, however, is to only read about the ones that have become important over the years. For example, as the law pertaining to the ownership of trademarks has changed, companies have started using trademarks in slightly different ways. For example, if you are a law firm, you aren’t allowed to use a trademark in your name, but that hasn’t stopped many people from using it in all caps, as in “firm”.
Also, I have to note that I wasnt discussing trademark law in this article. But I should have been. These new laws have had a really big impact on the way companies treat trademarks in general. I will address trademarks in a separate article.
Companies do take a great deal of pride in their trademarks. They are proud of their distinctiveness and unique value. They want to protect their marks against anyone else using them in a way that is confusing or misleading. Thats why they use their name in all caps, and why they use their mark in a different way than they would if they were the owner of the mark.
If you are going to protect your mark, you need to understand it, and in my opinion companies are not very good at understanding trademarks. Most companies that are in the law business are not very good at understanding the nuances of trademarks, which is ironic in that trademarks are such critical tools in the effort to protect your mark.
The real estate business is a great example of this. The reason they use the word “owner” is because most of the time the actual owner, or at least the mark’s owner, will be the person that owns the mark. The real estate business is a great example of how to protect your mark, because, like other businesses, they tend to protect trademarks against the exact same type of threats that trademark law is supposed to protect.
Not to mention that the real estate business is also a great example of how to protect your business. You can’t do that for a living. Just take your business with you wherever you go.
In the real estate business, one of the most important things is to have the right zoning, to make sure the landlord is a person that’s going to do the job properly, but also to be aware of any special requirements that may be imposed on the landlord. In the business of painting homes, you should be able to be sure that you have the right zoning to paint your home in the right place. If you don’t, then you will be in trouble.
