Law Office of Jason H. Rosenblum, PLLC

Intellectually Protecting Your Property ®

The Trump Brand: The President Knows Something About Building Walls Around His Intellectual Property

Love him or hate him, President Donald Trump is a gifted master of protecting his TRUMP brand.  Whether it’s regarding the branding of his real estate holdings, ancillary business ventures (TRUMP steaks, anyone?), or even campaign slogans, President Trump knows the value of protecting his Intellectual Property so that others can not profit from his creative ideas and products.
An excerpt from an interview that the Washington Post conducted with then president-elect Trump is telling of how he quickly seizes every opportunity to protect his namesake business ventures.  I’ve reprinted the highlights:
Halfway through his interview with The Washington Post, Trump shared a bit of news: He already has decided on his slogan for a reelection bid in 2020.
“Are you ready?” he said. “ ‘Keep America Great,’ exclamation point.”
“Get me my lawyer!” the president-elect shouted.
Two minutes later, one arrived.
“Will you trademark and register, if you would, if you like it — I think I like it, right? Do this: ‘Keep America Great,’ with an exclamation point. With and without an exclamation. ‘Keep America Great,’ ” Trump said.
“Got it,” the lawyer replied.
That bit of business out of the way, Trump returned to the interview.
For a bit of fun, our Trademark Attorneys also ran a quick search to view some of Trump’s other applications and registrations. See below. Are you surprised at what you see? We were not. That’s smart business.

Business owners must realize that we live in an age of online and social sharing where your ideas can be viewed by millions of people with the click of a button.  Double-edged sword, right? Great for advertising, but  unfortunately this also means ideas can also be stolen or misappropriated by complete strangers before you even have a chance to protect what you’ve created.
President Trump know this well, and as a notoriously successful business person, he keeps the lines of communication proactively open with his Intellectual Property attorneys, so that he can protect names, slogans, and ideas as he develops them.  As you can imagine, this likely saves him significant money, time, and aggravation by not having to pursue claims against would-be creative thieves after the fact because he didn’t protect his work at the onset.
Your business may not be internationally known as Trump’s is, but the protection of your work and creative ideas matters just as much.  They are your livelihood and the foundation of the business that you continue to grow.  Don’t cut corners when it comes to your intellectual property.  Learn from President Trump and take the time to protect what you are working so hard to create.  If you are unsure how to handle this, contact our trademark and copyright attorneys and ask to schedule an Intellectual Property audit.  We’ll take a methodical look at your business to help you uncover any holes in your legal planning that you may have missed.
 
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney.
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