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A legal riff is an instrument used to drive home a point.
In musical terms, a riff is a short repeated chord, progression, pattern, or melody—often played by rhythmic instruments. A riff is the base of the musical composition.
A legal riff is a longer repeated phrase—used by me to bring home a point. Repeating the point in a variety of ways and from different perspectives eventually results in the point sinking in. The goal is to have the legal refrain result in an “Aha!” moment before the advent of expensive legal disaster.
In other words, a legal riff is a preventive technique.
This legal riff is about the base of your business: Legal Branding™. I am riffing on an update on the previously told story of Kim Kardashian and her registration of the trademark “Kimono” and, by contrast, the previously told David v. Goliath story of the trademark battle brought by Caterpillar Inc. v. Cat & Cloud Coffee, to bring home the point.
The reason for this riff is to highlight the importance and nuance of Legal Branding in your business and how it can make a huge difference to your business bottom line or, for that matter, your business survival.
Remember that “Kimono” is the mark Kim Kardashian West submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office to register a trademark for her newly-developed line of shapewear. The trademark story and reasons for Kim’s declaration of withdrawal of the trademark registration is here. Suffice it to say that after she submitted the trademark registration, there was a massive public outcry asking her not to culturally approbate a proud Japanese tradition that honored the most meaningful moments in life … for underwear.
This gave Ms. Kardashian West a little pause – what my friend and whip-smart business coach, Erika Lyremark, calls an “Oh, shit!” moment. These are moments in your business (and personal) development where you have a grand plan, and it seems oh-so-glorious, and everything is moving along and coming together just fine, until a door unexpectedly slams in your face—usually forcefully—causing you to mutter or yell “oh, shit!”
The thing about these moments is that if you embrace them, they always turn into “hell, yes!” moments, as was the case with Kim and her Kimono. (Truth be told, I don’t actually know for sure that she screamed “hell, yes!” but she definitely should have.) After much fretting and frowning and creative scurrying, Kim relaunched her brand this week under the name SKIMS. SKIMS Solutionwear™ to be exact.
Genius.
She generated pre-launch publicity with a clever play on her name and a time-honored cultural clothing item when she registered Kimono. She generated goodwill by listening to her fans and the public (likely a horde of new fans) by saying she would withdraw the Kimono registration. She embraced the moment, changed direction, and came up with a far better product name that still has a play on her own name. Kim went from “oh, shit!” to “hell, yes!” And she avoided ongoing negative publicity.
Nice recovery … from a totally avoidable fumble.
Contrast this with the tons of negative publicity generated by Caterpillar, Inc., the $54 billion company that is trying to prevent a small California coffee shop from using its trademarked business name, Cat & Cloud, on apparel. In spite of public outcry and appeals to the contrary, and the questionable validity of Caterpillars claims, they are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on litigation that does nothing to advance their agenda. Read about that here. They continue to dig in their heels and continue to generate negative publicity.
No good ending to that story. So far.
The good news in this story is that Cat & Cloud did register their trademark, so they have a legally defensible position. And, they are taking the high road.
What’s the takeaway for you and your business? First, while you may not end up with your original branding choice, “oh, shit!” moments always turn into “hell, yeses!” if you embrace the opportunity, take a step back, and open to something better. Second, never underestimate the power and protection of Legal Branding to protect your business assets.
Your initial step is to do the research on your business or trade name to make sure you are as rock solid as possible. Then, make sure you have a registrable trademark before you manufacture 2 million pieces of shapewear with an unusable brand name attached to them, as Kim Kardashian did. Although I am sure she can afford to absorb the loss, most business owners can’t. Finally, part of your brand protection strategy should include running your proposed trade names by someone on the outside of your business. A little cultural sensitivity could have short-circuited an expensive and predictable mistake.
You can be sure that this is not my last legal riff on Legal Branding. That said, if you are ready to move forward, grab a spot on my calendar, I would be thrilled to provide personalized support as you develop and expand your brand. What can be more important? Your brand IS your business.
