Category Archives: legal
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. ~Socrates
Every professional needs to continuously learn in order to grow, hone their craft and hold themselves accountable to the clients they serve. That is why every year I set aside time to take continuing education classes. I always learn something new and am able to improve on some aspect of my photography or business. The awesome thing about our industry is although our creative vision differs across the board so, all of us photographers can walk out of the class with completely different ways to execute our creative vision in our artwork.
This year, I took a fun workshop with Roxanne Bryant on Color Theory and was very privileged to attend The Baby Summit 2016 at the Marriot Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia. I loved learning from the absolute world’s best – Kelly Brown, Luisa Dunn, Heidi Hope, Sue Bryce, Ana Brandt etc… Amazing women and photographers! I walked out of each class feeling inspired and so blessed that all our gracious instructors took the time to share the expertise they’ve spent years perfecting with us! I was also able to forge relationships with new vendors to bring consistent, high quality props to my clients. Overall, a beautiful and totally worthwhile experience! Most of all, I was able to carry this dazzling energy, burning passion and better photography home to all my clients.
At a time when holiday photoshoot inquiries are on the rise, here are a few questions for clients to ask when searching for a professional custom boutique baby portraiture photographer:
- Does the photographer set aside time to attend continuing education classes, workshops or conferences? This is especially important for safety when posing newborns!
- Does the photographer belong to a reputable professional photography association and are they in good standing?
- Does the photographer pay taxes and are they licensed in their geographic area of business?
- Does the photographer routinely clean their props and maintain good hygiene/health for their baby clients? Are they up to date on their yearly shots?
- Can the photographer provide client testimonials that span at least a year to show credibility?
Mint Purple Studio successfully registered our trademark with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) a few months ago. The process was long, as is most experiences that deal with the government. However, it was also challenging and a great learning experience. Yes, I am an attorney and practiced corporate law for two years but I never dealt with trademark registration as that falls under its own special category of IP Law. My legal training and experience helped, having Esq. at the end of my name also helped…. But I would say that any clever layman/woman can start the process on their own too by educating themselves (the Internet is a great resource), finishing up by procuring an attorney to review and sign off on the application.
I will outline the general process I went through here; however NOTE : none of this should be taken as legal advice. Plus everyone’s needs are different so each application in detail will be different as well.
1. Research, download and review the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) application form to get an overview of what the requirements are for filing the studio’s trademark.
2. Familiarize self with the different classes that the studio’s services can fall under for trademark filing. This is probably the most important and arduous step because I found that although I knew exactly that I wanted to register the studio’s many design services and design products, the issue is there are many many many! Each class costs $275 to register if using the online TEAS form so I had to choose wisely even if I wanted to register that many.
3. Login to the USPTO and complete the TEAS application online. I needed to get the application done in one day because the system exits on its own if idle for more than an hour and I couldn’t risk losing all my data after spending a lot of time filling out so much detail in the application. I had to provide examples of the studio’s product, evidence that the products were in commerce on or before the date of filing and compile a lot of photographic support to show my products and design services had the studio’s mark at the time I was doing business.
4. After submitting the completed application online, I signed off as owner and attorney of record because the USPTO will only correspond with attorneys on applications. It took me a few months to get everything together, one day to submit the application.
5. The USPTO replied to my application by issuing an office action which is also viewable online. The office action detailed issues that the USPTO examiner had with my application and I was given 6 months to address the issues in order to proceed forward. In the studio’s case, the biggest challenge was again classification. Fortunately, I had the pleasure of working with a very experienced and kind USPTO examiner who was willing to give me some guidance. Thank you Patty! She went above and beyond her call of duty and I was definitely blessed to have such a nice attorney work on the case.
6. Each time I addressed an office action, I used the TEAS system response form on the USPTO website. This process took the longest (about a year). The toll was in part due to my being pregnant and having a crazy pregnancy. I was working on a reply up until the day I delivered and a month after my baby was born!
7. Once the USPTO examiner felt I fully addressed all of the issues on the application, she approved the mark for publication in the USPTO Official Gazette. The mark then needs to pass a defense period of thirty days to see if anyone challenges it.
8. After the mark passes the defense period, an official registration certificate is issued and mailed to the address on file. The moment I received the certificate, I wanted to jump up and down with excitement 🙂
And that is it for my experience with trademark registration. 🙂 Maintenance paperwork needs to be filed in a few years but now the studio’s trademark is considered officially registered! This PDF file is a great explanatory overview of the process.
So designers and artists, you can begin this process yourself too. If you want legal consultation, feel free to email me at trademark@mintpurplestudio.com. Good luck!