Is Trademarking Your SL Brand Worth it to You?

An SL company that has been ripping off the Nikon Camera trademark.

Trademarketing?

It's bad enough some of these self called 'designers' actually have deluded themselves into thinking they actually invented whatever items they bring out. Without adding a TM to the mix.

I don't think anyone could afford the real world costs of 'trade marking'. If I could, I would. What I have done is 'branding' my in world business and to date, it seems to be working. All of my products have my name, logo or both on them some where. My business name is 'barefoot designs' and have off shoots of that, such as 'barefoot apparel'. My logo is of course, 'footprints'. On my posters, the 'fine' print says at the bottom, 'barefoot logo, foot prints logo, barefoot designs, barefoot apparel','barefoot mens fashions','barefoot homes & designs,'barefoot graphic arts', and any product created by 'barefoot designs', bearing logo or name of 'barefoot' are the intellectual property of Jeremey Ryan. Maybe thats carrying things a bit far, but I have worked hard to establish my little business in SL and 'branding' seems to be the best next thing. The reality of it is, this may protect my in-world business, but little else out in the real world.

This post is absolute SLANDER. This should not be allowed...what a dolt you are.

It's call the 'Mikon SL100' now...so get a life, and stop trolling my business. Ps. Your sky buildings suck (are we even now?)

This is really funny. MB has the audacity to call someone who is truly breaking the boundaries in SL architecture a dolt, while until recently he was leaning on an RL brand to generate interest in his products.

In my not so humble opinion, ArchTx is one of the few designers/architects who has discarded the preconceptions of RL architecture and done something truly original to SL.

Chas, you're defending his cruel slander is evident your bias of me. What he openly said in a public forum is inexcusable...and you're backing him doesn't show your scruples to be any better.

Some of you may dislike my methods of conversation, but how dare you slander me for something which was in the past, and has been remedied.

And I wasn't 'leaning on a brand to generate interest'...my products speak for themselves. I originally used the RL brand because of my admiration of them...call it whatever you want, but I don't deserve this slander.

Yes, he is a dolt...because he slandered me like he did...whether he has floating castles in the sky or not, it's still wrong on all accounts.

Glowbox is not what it is because of my short-lived use of a RL brand...that was one little product among many other products and services I offer...telling me I created the previous Nikon to bolster my sales is ignorant and uninformed.

This just gets better and better. If you could just hear my laughter right now,... but I don't use voice (so I must be female, or have something equally vile to hide, right).

You have the audacity to talk about my scruples when a) you openly disparage someone else's products (ArchTx didn't disparage yours), b) call someone a dolt (ie an unwarranted personal attack, disparaged by your own good self on many occasions) and c) you call your new camera a Mikon. A MIKON? Are you kidding?

My scruples, when it took the weight of forum opinion to convince you that using the Nikon name was a bit iffy?

Don't make me laugh even more.

"Ha ha...you make me laugh." Is saying that suppose to phase me? Ohh...good one.

Obviously he deserved being called a dolt...what he said was cruel and wrong. As for knocking his business, that was more of a joke to illustrate how lame it is to bash someones business, like he did mine (I thought that was obvious by what I said in the parenthesis after).

I have nothing against his company or product--I do, however, have something against people that flame or slander out of the blue for no reason--and what he said was damn harsh...that could easily affect the choice or opinions of another resident that might happen upon it.

You backing him on this is completely transparent...do you have any more kudos for him? Do you want to marry him? Do you have an award for his 'original' designs? Could you kiss his butt any more? Or maybe you're just his good friend, standing by him in times of trouble (like when you're buddy drinks too much at a party and pisses on the host's shoe).

It's so obvious this is a hate MB flame-fest...and it's always the same people that do it.

This may come as some surprise to you, but you register as a zero on my scale of importance in SL, or anywhere. I've never met ArchTx and he doesn't know me from Adam. This whole Michael Bigwig flamefest idea of yours is a total figment of your overblown ego and accompanying inferiority complex. Typical passive aggressive behaviour, resulting from a rather sad childhood.

Learn to cope with criticism or stop making such stupid statements.

You don't fool anyone...certainly not me. You really need to look at your posts to me, and read them out-loud in a mirror...I mean seriously look at yourself.

'Nuff said...good night.

I disagree. They can't determine (for me) what part of my brand is 'descriptive.' The name of my company is 'Glowbox Designs', not 'Glowbox.' In fact, I could name my company Glowbox Designs, and sell cupcakes...they still have to accept the full name I'm trademarking.

what is glowbox designs?

An SL company that has been ripping off the Nikon Camera trademark.

This post is absolute SLANDER. This should not be allowed...what a dolt you are.

And for the record, I've changed my product name once I heard what the forum 'community' thought.

I was never 'ripping them off'...I was giving the citizens a chance to have a Nikon in Second Life...I'm not ripping anything off. My model was handcrafted from my own design and custom textures...I used the Nikon trademark because I personally love Nikon.

Not to mention that my still camera is only one product among many I have. I'm also a graphic designer and illustrator...so slandering my company for one little thing you find offensive is ignorant and shameful.

It's call the 'Mikon SL100' now...so get a life, and stop trolling my business. Ps. Your sky buildings suck (are we even now?)

If you have a business in SL and you have been at it for at least a year and are making income, establishing your brand, and making a name for your business in SL... have you ever had any issues with someone else using your business name as theirs?

However, I'd like to know how important you think it is to seek trademark registration for YOUR SL business. A U.S. Trademark Application costs $325.00 to file online and $375.00 to file via paper. As SL grows, more and more start-ups pop up, some of which just want to "make money". They buy business in a box packages and they look for something that seems to be working - which could be your business name, your layout, your building structure, your textures. Is it important enough to you to pony up the cash and seek to protect your business name/brand?

I have had one instance of another avatar starting to use my business name. He did not intend to borrow it, he was very apologetic and immediately stopped using it when I pointed out that it was the business name I had been using for 16 months at that time. This was another architect who I had befriended, he was new in SL and I had we had discussed virtual reality architecture together, I had given him a tour of my VRchitecture store and showed him how to use Builder's Buddy. I think he sort of subconsciously absorbed the name and started using it a month or two later when he created a website about his use of virtual reality modeling in his architectural practice. Fortunately he was a gentleman and stopped using the name.

Trademarking a business name in SL has questionable value in my mind. It is unreasonably expensive for most small SL businesses. And what good does it really do you?

As we have already seen, even large corporations have a difficult time controlling the theft of their trademark in SL. Even with a trademark it is expensive and time consuming to pursue enforcement against the thief who is using it, especially when it is a tiny little inconsequential business in SL.

Before pursuing enforcement you need to consider how much are you really loosing as a result of the trademark infringement. Is it really hurting your business and how does that compare to the legal costs to make them stop infringing on your trademark. It really does more for large companies then for small businesses. A big company can afford to write of the expense of enforcing the trademark, the same expense could wipe out all of the annual profits of a small business.

If you have a unique and highly successful product line like SexGen or Xcite! then it would probably be worth trademarking. However even then with the trademark it offers no protection against anyone who wants to copy your idea and produce a similar product, it only prohibits them from using your name. And if you go to the trouble to enforce your trademark using the legal system, like SexGen has, you may never recover the costs of doing so.