Maria Sinatra, Brand Protection Attorney on Coffee People.

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Location: New York, NY
Find online: On LinkedIn • https://www.venable.com
What they drink: Hot coffee, probably from a local shop.

Disclaimer from Venable LLP: “The information in this podcast is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion. Such advice may be given only when it is related to specific fact situations that Venable has accepted an engagement as counsel to address.”

If your start-up business or coffee cart business wants to expand to ever a physical location or wants to license the intellectual property or the trademarks in the future, you wanna maybe obtain a federal trademark registration, so you're protected.

You know, if anyone tries to copy your trademark or your brand, someone may say ,"Hey! I really like those—that logo, or I really like those colors!" And say you live in California, and then they go to New York and open a similar shop, you know, if you don't have registrations in place or you don't have a licensing plan in place, you may not be able to enforce or do something about it."
• Maria Sinatra

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It's easy to forget that, beyond roasting, brewing, and serving coffee, there is a whole world of business, branding, and legal considerations that go into opening a coffee shop or roaster. Often those category impacts go hand-in-hand, but can be easy to avoid or push onto the future version of yourself because they aren't fun or in the wheelhouse of your skills. Imagine me raising my hand. "Guilty."

Maria Sinatra (Venable LLP) is an attorney who has a particular bent for brand protection, which often overlaps with intellectual property (IP). When I think IP, I think of Disney suing a school for a themed wall mural or the NFL refusing to let taverns host Super B—umm...you get it. I'll stop there.

But there is so much more to trademarks, copyright, and ways to protect your small (or big) brand. Maria gives us some good starting points for why your business might need brand protection, and, at the very least, should be aware of them.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE POD

Maria specializes in intellectual property matters, including but not limited to trademark and copyright matters.
She has been speaking at CoffeeFest's, in part due to an interest in coffee and the industry, and because it offers her the opportunity to share the value of what legal counsel can offer small businesses.
What is a brand? In the case of this conversation it is a company's trademark or "source identifier." Think of things like logos, colors, or even sounds that consumers associate may your business. Starbuck's green, LavAzza's oversized "A" in the logo, or the HBO intro before the credits. The goal of a trademark is to prevent confusion.

Another pillar of intellectual property (IP) is the copyright for any original work that is fixed in a tangible medium (not an idea, but an actualized thing) like a menu, billboard, advertisement, or even social media that you don't want others to copy or use.

Why is IP important? You want to make sure your business identity isn't overlapping on someone else's brand to avoid both confusion and legal risk. It's part risk mitigation, but also to protect your trademark and brand.
It may be best practice to begin your brand protection journey before your business launches, but if you've already been using your trademark without having registered something, you've still got some rights. You can always apply. The reality of starting a business requires entrepreneurs to weigh their costs/expenses versus the immediate and long-term benefits. What risks to your brand are you willing to take?
New technologies and services have made it easier to create attractive designs, but they've also increased the risk of copying another brand or infringing on a trademark or copyright. Be unique! AI productions may not be protectable. Congress hasn't changed any copyright laws (recently), in regards to AI. The laws don't always keep up.*

*Consider hiring a professional designer to work on your brand.

I would say, you know, it comes down to trust your gut. Especially, in the age of AI that we're living in. You know, there's always that gut-check that we as humans have that I don't think AI will ever be capable of. If something smells off to you or doesn't look right, trust that instinct. • Maria Sinatra