Law Enforcement Offers Landlord Training

Posted on | October 28, 2009 | No Comments

Landlording issues are once again hot topics among real estate investors.  As more and more people move from foreclosed homes into rental homes and apartments, discussions about landlording have increased.  As you might have guessed, there are more criminal activities in rental living units these days, as unemployment rose and more rental units are filled with tenants.  To deal with increased criminal activity in rental living units, law enforcement agencies across the country have created programs, either to threaten and coerce, or assist landlords, in ridding  properties of criminal elements.

In Indianapolis, the Marion County Prosecutor has created a program to assist landlords.  The police department created an Anti-Crime Lease Addendum form, which I incorporated into my lease agreement form years ago.  And the courts are helpful and sympathetic to landlords willing to fight crime by evicting criminal-tenants.  So, In Indianapolis, at least, there is help for landlords wanting to keep crime out of their units.

For more imnformation on the training classes available in Indianapolis, visit this site:  http://www.indy.gov/eGov/County/Pros/Prevent/CommPros/Evict/Pages/home.aspx

Protect Your Business name

Posted on | October 22, 2009 | 3 Comments

Your business name has value, if you protect it.  Consider what your business name does for you:

1. It can identify your product or service.
2. Customers instantly recognize your company.
3. Your name can suggest speed, quality or other marketable characteristics.
4. You distinguish your company, product or service from those of the competition.

Add to a good business name-

  *  A tag line

  *  A logo

  *  A color scheme

Now you’ve got a BRAND.  And branding is critical to attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.

But how do you protect your brand?  More specifically, how do you protect your COMPANY NAME?

STEP ONE-  Hire a good business attorney.  If you live in Indiana, call and interview Indiana business attorneys knowledgeable in this area of the law.

STEP TWO-  Decide whether your company will offer services or goods to customers in more than one state.  If so, you’ll have more work to do in picking and protecting a name.

STEP THREE-   Chose an unique or original business name.  Most state secretaries of state have websites where you can search for available names.  You’ll also need to check the Internet and the United State Patent & Trademark Office. 

I recommend that you go one step further.  Once you’ve done a preliminary search and have chosen a name, hire a professional service company that specializes in name searches.  I use such a service regularly, and it is the most cost-effective way to ensure good selection of a name.

STEP FOUR-   Work with your business attorney to devise a Name Registration Strategy.  Do the cost-benefit analysis required to determine whether you need federal trademark protection.  In most states, you’ll want to register your business name at the state level.  Many businesses should consider federal trademark registration, but never anticipate that they have an interstate business.  That’s a huge mistake.

Then, if you are granted state or federal trademark or service mark rights, note those rights by use of the appropriate registration symbols-  use the ® if it is registered as a federal trademark, a ™ if it’s an unregistered trademark and a ^SM if it’s an unregistered service mark.

Your Name Registration Strategy should include filing fictitious or assumed business names.  These are known as “DBA’s,” which stands for “Doing Business As.”  This strategy not only protects names but can also prevent lawsuits, but that’s another article that I’ll write separately.

STEP FIVE-  Register your domain names.  As they say in Chicago politics. . .  early and often.  Registration is cheap.  So, register a reasonable range or combination of your name as .com, .net, .org. .biz or any other relevant extensions.  Make it easy for customers to find you by directing traffic from multiple sources to your home page.

STEP SIX-  Monitor for violations of your rights.  Use Monitor trademark infringement with CyberAlert’s Trademark Infringement Monitoring Service, or resolve it with trademark protection services from The Trademark Company.

STEP SEVEN-  Enforce your rights.  For example, have your business lawyer send “Cease And Desist” letters to anyone violating your business name rights.  Submit complaints regarding domain name use to an arbitrator according to the Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policies set forth by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).   Challenge other trademarks or registered business names that infringe on your name rights.  Etc., etc., etc.

If necessary, file lawsuits.

If your business name is an important part of your branding strategy or goodwill, then take the time and make the investment to find the right business attorney to help you protect that brand.