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intellectual property solutions
for creative thinkers.*

*We got rid of the box. Don’t worry we recycled it.

fish upstream

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Girl Friday IP:

Noun

A boutique IP practice and your ‘go to’ for all things IP related

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ACT⚡️C
n. out of office
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Australian Capital Territory Currently.
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It’s a long way to Canberra if you’re flying from Perth.
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We’re out of the office and away from our inbox for the next couple of days.
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#IProadtrip #worklife #outofoffice

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faceless
adj. ‘Book it
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Drop the "Face." Just "Book." It's cleaner.
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Facebook registered trade marks for the words FACE® and BOOK® a few years back in the US and is now looking to do the same in Europe.
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Back in June, the company filed a European trade mark application to register “BOOK” for a laundry list of electronic gadgets and gizmos including computer hardware, software, apps and wearable tech products.
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FACEBOOK® might be in the social networking biz, but they definitely don’t LIKE® it when other businesses POKE® around their trade marks and IP.
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#brandingbythebook #facebook #trademark
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📷: Simon Steinberger via @pixabay

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cross countries
n. ✈️
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We’re Eurotripping this October.
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First up brands, biers and Berlin. Looking forward to saying hallo to friends and colleagues at the Pharmaceutical Trade Mark Conference 2019. Anyone looking to meet in Berlin, you’ll find a meeting link in our bio.
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They say Paris is always a good idea - who are we to argue? Parisian friends and colleagues bring on the cheese and wine s'il vous plaît.
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Last but certainly not least, we’ll be popping in for a cuppa with our UK mates, Queen Lizzie and the corgis.
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2 weeks. 3 countries. Comfy sneakers and several pairs of stretchy pants.
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#eurotrip #PTMG2019 #worklife

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🍣🍜🍛🍔🥟🥡🍡🍗🍤🥩🍫
excl. sushi +
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Move over minimalist branding.
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Literally, move over because YO! Sushi’s rebranded to YO!SUSHIRAMENKATSUCURRYBAOBURGERGYOZAFRIESYAKISOBAMOCHIBALLSFRIEDCHICKENPOPCORNSHRIMPBEEFTERIYAKICHOCOLATEBROWNIE and it needs room for its new 12ft signage.
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Swipe left and you’ll see what we mean.
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What prompted the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious style rebrand?
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The company’s “extensive market research” revealed that over 80% of customers think all they sell is sushi, because of the name YO! Sushi. Wanting to help customers appreciate they’re more than just sushi, the company’s decided to jam their entire menu into a rebrand.
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The novelty signage points to a PR stunt. Whether it’s a fishy PR bit or a legit rebrand, props to CEO Richard Hodgson for announcing it on Twitter - with a straight face and in a single breath.
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#sushiandwhatevs #yosushi #rebrand
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📷: Marc Tran licensed via @stocksyunited and @yosushi

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the others
n. copyleft behind
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And then there’s the rest.
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While it’s great to know what copyright can protect, it’s just as helpful to know what it doesn’t protect too.
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• Ideas, concepts, theories, techniques, styles, vibes - unless these are expressed in some concrete way, copyright isn’t going to lend you a helping hand here.
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• For names, brands, slogans, titles - trade mark registration is the IP tool for the job.
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• For inventions, processes and methods - patent protection may help you along the right IP protection pathway.
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• And if your product is all about the look - design registration can help you keep up appearances.
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The moral of this post for those playing at home:
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Herding copycats can involve a lot more IP protection than just copyright.
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#IPtoolbox #copyright #copywrong
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📷: Yours truly @girlfridayip

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stand-in
n. seeing double
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Forever 21 thought they’d end up with Ariana Grande.
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But her team said it wasn’t a match.
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Forever 21 posted look-alike images about Grande.
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Now she saw them and didn’t laugh.
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That’s what Ariana Grande is alleging in her lawsuit against fashion retailer, Forever 21. The company had approached her with an endorsement deal and she said no thank U, next.
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Forever 21 then proceeded to release a series of social media posts using a look-alike model, styled in a similar way to how Grande appears in her “7-Rings” video, and a caption on one post resembled lyrics from the song.
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Grande’s suing for copyright and trade mark infringement, claiming Forever 21’s intent with the advertising campaign was to suggest she endorsed the products and was affiliated with the company.
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She’s demanding US$10m in damages giving Forever 21 plenty more tears to cry - last week, the company was reported to be preparing for bankruptcy.
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There’s an added costume change in this drama. Drag queen Farrah Moan, tweeted accusations that Grande’s team stole one of the looks in question from her.
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So much IP tea spillage.
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#spilltheIP #copyright #arianagrande
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📷: Yours truly @girlfridayip

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©️
n. who’s copying the what now?
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Continuing our copyright myth busting crusade.
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Unicorns are mythical and so is the idea that copyright can be relied upon to protect all creative things great and small.
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Certain types of original creative work can be protected by copyright. The work needs to be in a TANGIBLE form such as written, artistic, visual or musical work.
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Copyright protects the original EXPRESSION of an idea, not the idea itself. E.g: copyright will protect the text of your blog post but not the idea behind the blog post. Someone else can use or have the same idea to write their own blog post.
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Take away: Copyright is just one form of IP protection; it isn’t a magical IP unicorn that protects anything and everything.
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#thinkit #createit #protectit
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📷: Yours truly @girlfridayip

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🤐
n. zilch, zip, nada
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Some folks clam up at the idea of talking shop without an non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in place. Others hate the feeling of “signing away their lives” when presented with an NDA.
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But an NDA can help everyone involved understand and respect any confidential or sensitive info that might be shared, and get a productive and collaborative convo going.
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A few things to consider with NDAs:
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🙊 They can either be ONE-WAY or MUTUAL depending on whether confidential info is being disclosed by one party or both. Think about the type of NDA that‘s appropriate for your needs.
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🙊 Devil is in the details so include SPECIFICS around what‘s considered confidential and the purpose of any discussions. Avoid broad, catch-all terms or clauses. E.g. It may be unreasonable to expect someone to maintain confidentiality indefinitely or protect info that‘s already known.
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🙊 Clearly mark any info or materials to be shared with “CONFIDENTIAL”. To protect any sensitive info, it helps to identify and know what‘s actually considered sensitive and confidential.
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🙊 Take care to limit access any confidential info and materials to those on a NEED-TO-KNOW basis. If you’re going to open access to anyone and everyone - the confidentiality deal is a bit of a hard sell.
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🙊 Make sure the NDA is signed (and dated) by an authorised person(s). E.g. Is the person signing authorised to enter into and sign off on an NDA say on behalf of the company?
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An NDA, together with other forms of IP protection, can help you talk shop more confidently. But think about the nature of the conversation before whipping out an NDA or signing one - not all chats or situations will call for one.
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#secretsquirrelbusiness #nondisclosureagreement #NDA #confidentiality
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Gify goodness: humorinrecovery.tumblr.com via @giphy

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mythbusting
n. doing the math
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Myth: Changing 5-10% of the original work is enough to avoid infringement.
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Myth: It’s ok if only a small amount of the original work is used, 90% of the new work is different.
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Copyright isn’t a simple numbers game. There’s no magical percentage of what you can change or include to avoid potential infringement issues.
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Think quality over quantity and whether an IMPORTANT or ESSENTIAL part of the original work is still being used.
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Avoid bad and potentially costly maths by creating the right way and avoid copying the wrong way.
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#inspirationoverimitation #copyright #copywrong #tuesdaytip
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📷: Tasty pie chart by yours truly @girlfridayip

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(see also: Dynamo)