Trademarks confuse writers. Here are some tips on how to address trademarks in prose — and whether you ought to protect your own special names for things with them. Start with this: I’m not a lawyer. I hope you find this helpful — it’s based on decades of experience as a writer — but if…
A client of mine is planning on releasing a new book with a clever title. He asked “How can I protect the title so no one else can publish a book with the same title?” “You can’t,” I responded. (That didn’t make him happy.) You cannot copyright a book title. It is too short. You…
If you publish content, online or off, you are a publisher. I am an author. I will cite your content and quote what you said. That’s how it works, regardless of any imaginary restrictions you think up. Call it the fundamental principle of content. Every content marketer should know this. Maybe you published a blog…
Let’s talk about trademarks in writing, genericide, and and why this video about Velcro exists: When a company’s product and marketing take off, it dominates its category. As a natural result, its name becomes synonymous with the category — a process called genericide. When the public can’t tell the difference, the trademark becomes generic, and…