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intellectual property solutions
for creative thinkers.*

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

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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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29 2

trade mark tarot (part 2) n. create your brand des

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36 4

monochrome adj. 50 shades of greyscale ➖ Got ‘

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trade mark tarot (part 1) n. create your brand des

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21 5

assymptomatic adj. tone-deafness, delusions, assha

assymptomatic
adj. tone-deafness, delusions, asshat-tricks
➖
Hey (blood)sports fans. Here’s a Friday funny for you.
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Well it’s not really ha-ha funny. More you’ve-got-to-be-joking-who-the-feck-thought-that-was-a-good-idea funny.
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Anyone remember Theranos? For those playing at home, Theranos was a biotech donkey dressed up as a billion dollar unicorn.
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Anyway, Theranos’ patents for its bogus blood diagnostic tech were scooped up by Fortress Investment Group — a patent troll dressed up as an investment group. Keeping up with the costume changes so far?
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Fortress owns Labrador Diagnostics — a shell company that claims to have rights to a couple of the Theranos patents. Labrador are suing US company, BioFire for patent infringement.
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BioFire is a legit company, currently making legit and much-needed diagnostic tests for COVID-19.
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A company that exists only on paper, for the sole purpose of being a patent pest, is suing a company that is actually working to help during a global pandemic. What a time to be alive.
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It’s also worth asking who would step up to represent a patent troll during a pandemic no less? A law firm that previously filed a lawsuit to represent a monkey in a copyright infringement case.
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(Labrador have since done some socially isolated back-pedalling, announcing it will grant royalty-free licences to its patented tech for any COVID-19 testing. Oh but it’s still suing BioFire for other non-pandemic related patent issues.)
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#seekimmediatehelpfortonedeafness
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Gify goodness: simpsonsworld.com via @giphy

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ps adj. public spirited ➖ Personal sidebar this

ps
adj. public spirited
➖
Personal sidebar this morning friends.
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Sadness. Anxiety. Anger. Stress. A range of feels have occupied our hearts and minds over the past two days. We’ve watched good friends and people lose their jobs. No warning. No thanks for your service. Nothing.
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You’d expect to see and hear a lot of doom and gloom from a group of people who overnight have lost their livelihoods. But no. The chatter has been full of gratitude, kindness and support for one another.
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We’ll be taking a leaf out of this friendship playbook.
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Negativity is pervasive. We can’t, and won’t, allow it to squat on anymore prime emotional and mental real estate.
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We’ll be doing what we can to support our real world and digital communities.
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Part of this is to continue doing what we know and do best — educating and entertaining you with all things IP.
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Wishing you all a happy and a healthy.
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— Fi.
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#takecareofyourselvesandeachother #caremongering #viralkindess
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Snap: Quite rightly titled “Together we are more” by Beatrix Boros licensed from @stocksyunited

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co-op n. it takes a village ➖ This is a big shou

co-op
n. it takes a village
➖
This is a big shout out to everyone, whether personally or professionally, playing an active, socially conscious and responsible role in these unsettling times.
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It’s really positive to see people and businesses stepping up to the leadership plate and doing what they can in the fight for public health and safety:
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〰️ Encouraging and supporting anyone who can to work remotely.
〰️ Exercising social distancing.
〰️ Lending support and understanding to anyone feeling anxious or isolated.
〰️ Continuing to support small or local businesses where they can.
〰️ Assisting the elderly and vulnerable in the community.
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If we all continue to play our part and take these preventive measures, we’ll curb any further significant impact on our communities.
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It will take a village.
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#flattenthecurve
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(Social distancing advocate Mr. Burns showing us how it’s done courtesy of simpsonsworld.com via @giphy

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viral adj. opportunistic ➖ The medical, social a

viral
adj. opportunistic
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The medical, social and economic impact of the Coronavirus is unprecedented.
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There are plenty of folks out there doing their part. Amazing medical personnel working to treat and care for patients. Scientists working on vaccines. Businesses working to ensure health and safety of their staff. Everyday citizens stepping up their socially responsibilities to help prevent the spread of the virus.
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But then there’s always one in every bunch. The one who ruins it for everyone else and is the reason why we can’t have nice things.
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You know the one who registers domain names and trade marks related to a crisis when it makes the regular news cycles?
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US company, And Still LLC, applied to register “Coronavax”, “Covid-19 Vax” and “Coronablok” as trade marks with the USPTO at the beginning of February.
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To date, the company sells clothing. But the recently filed trade mark applications cover vaccines.
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The company’s CEO has stated the plan is to possibly sell the trade marks to a company that makes a Coronavirus vaccine. He considers this to be:
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“...a service to the vaccine companies and general public, by making it easy to promote a vaccination with a logical name and corresponding website domain where consumers could get information on the vaccine”.
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He also expressed his surprise at how few trade mark applications there were for the name when he applied. But he wants to be clear that he’s not seeking to profit from the current public health crisis.
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No not at all. Not in the least opportunistic or distasteful. Insert biggest eye roll here.
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In the meantime, our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the health crisis. Wash those hands. Self-quarantine. Check in with friends, family and colleagues remotely. And spare a square for those in need.
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#lookafteryourselvesandeachother
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Snap: Marc Tran licensed via @stocksyunited

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swag n. work wardrobe ➖ Added some signature swa

swag
n. work wardrobe
➖
Added some signature swag to the capsule wardrobe recently.
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#girlfridaygear #workuniform #worklife

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same same excl. but not different enough ➖ Ever

same same
excl. but not different enough
➖
Ever done a trade mark search but like Bono, you still haven’t found what you’re looking for?
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Just because you haven’t found an IDENTICAL match, doesn’t mean you’re in the clear.
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Any minor differences between your mark and an existing one might not be enough to differentiate them. Your mark might still be DECEPTIVELY SIMILAR to someone else’s trade mark.
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Your mark might look similar, sound similar, express a similar idea, apply to similar products or services, or be aimed at a similar crowd of customers.
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These deceptive similarities could still make it difficult for you to use and protect your mark.
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We’d love to say there’s a golden 5-10% rule you can apply to change up your mark. But sadly there isn’t. So if you’re doing your homework, do take care:
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Even if you’re not twinning, doesn’t mean you’re winning (yet).
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#differentbutsame #spotthedifferences #girlfridayip™ #girlfridayguide™
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Snap: Miquel Llonch licensed via @stocksyunited

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team n. better together ➖ We get by with a lot o

team
n. better together
➖
We get by with a lot of help from our #girlfridayfriends.
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We’re grateful for the community of people who have welcomed us with open arms, hearts and minds.
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Clients, supporters, collaborators, friends, family — we wouldn’t be here without you all and your support.
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So what better way to celebrate #IWD2020 than to pay it forward.
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We’ve made a donation to @water today.
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Millions of women spend the majority of their day looking for and collecting clean water — leaving them with little to no time for work, school or to care for family. Water.org are helping to empower women around the world with access to clean and safe water.
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Thank you to our #GFFs. Your support empowers us to empower others.
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#internationalwomensday #eachforequal
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Photo courtesy of Water.org. Read more about Water.org’s work and Rose’s story in the link in our bio.

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brand hangover n. 😷 ➖ Misinformation on the i

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personal rebrand v. Hugo Bossy ➖ Name-calling as

(see also: Dynamo)