View Full Version : Would like opinions on company name...HELP!


Roze Ann
May 19th, 2003, 07:23 AM
Hey Y'all...well this site has been a huge help in the gear I chose to purchase. Now I'm working on a company name. Sent out many ideas and received many from friends, email list, etc. Here are the top 3 picks (email: ezor7@yahoo.com to let me know which you like and why):

The Media Cafe'
Fat Cat Media
Camera Ready

I will stills and video production from inception to completion (final edit) and dupes on tape and DVD. The usual corporate, commercial stuff will be 'bread and butter' but my heart is in kids, pets, families, documentaries and music videos. So I want a cool, playful name that's not too silly for 'the big guys' of corporate America. I'll post results this weekend so plleeeeeeaaseee email me sooon!

John Locke
May 19th, 2003, 08:12 AM
Hi Roze Ann,

The first thing I recommend is to do a thorough search of company names in your area, and also check for registered trademarks of these names.

I didn't search all three, but I did search Fat Cat Media since that was the one I liked best, and I immediately found a link for www.fatcatmedia.tv.

A company name is something you're going to be stuck with for a long time, so make sure it hasn't been grabbed up by someone who has a legal claim to it.

Keith Loh
May 19th, 2003, 10:42 AM
I would avoid anything with 'cafe' in it. Why confuse the market?

Bob Deming
May 19th, 2003, 11:08 AM
Be careful with names.

The internet name "astroplex.com" was mine and I was about to register it and found that a jerk in Colorado Springs took it from my site and put it in his name collection.

How do I know. Well I put it on my site so a friend could look at the graphics built around it. When I found it was "taken/stolen" I looked this guys DNS up on my web site and found that he looked at my site the same day he registered the name.

The guy in Colorado does nothing but collect names and sell them.

Names are worth lots of money as you know. I sold tradesmart.com for $30K to a guy in LA. I still own tradesmart.net and .org.

I recommend that you protect your name, do what is recommended here and check the internet for the name if you desire to use it on the net.

I have been offered $5,500.00 for darkskys.com and a little more for the name videoclipboard.com.

Because of all of the above, I won't tell you what I like. But stay away from "cafe" that's old .com stuff.

Roze Ann
May 19th, 2003, 11:42 AM
Hi Folks,
Yes I have checked with www.uspto.gov on the name and did a general web name search a few are taken but the one that is getting the most votes so far is a "parked" name. I've spoken with the registrar of that name who is considering selling it to me. Meanwhile I went ahead and registered the same name with a different ".***" at the end. I am furiously working on logos as we speak and have a few really good ones worked out for the 3 listed names. So as soon as the final decision is made I will be good to go. I plan on filing my trademark/logo at the beginning of next week. "Fat Cat Media.tv" is either just about to come up or may have over the last few days. Not concerned at all about that. Different company, different state, etc. If there is any research stuff I've left out PLEASE let me know. Thank y'all SOOOOOO MUCH!!!

Roze Ann
May 19th, 2003, 12:00 PM
P.S. PLEASE keep sending ideas and info. I'm a total newbie on this part of it. BTW, I just called the uspto office and here's the scoop. Once you do a trademark name search and if you don't see the name then you can apply for that name/mark. BUT if someone else has applied at roughly the same time and they got their mark in even a few hours before yours they will when the tm race (that makes sense).. here's the big BUT...you do NOT get your appl. fee back. Urrgg. So you have to sit and wait for 12-13 months while the process goes through and HOPE that you got in first with your name/tm. Anyone actually done this before? What's your experience?

Bob Deming
May 19th, 2003, 12:37 PM
I have a trademark for a logo.

It only cost me about $50 and a couple stamps.

If you have read, then you know there are different types of trademarks that cover different geographical areas.

A "state registeration" is dif than an international and cost much less, at least you can register with the state and protect yourself from others that try and register that mark in the same state.

International trademarks are very different and cost money.

A simple way to check the name marks are to do as you have and check the internet. It if isn't on the internet the chances of getting it is at least 60/40%.

Think about it.

......Okay, If you have a "logo" that consists of more t han a "name" then you submitt that in colour and black land white drawings or photos.

Now, the trademark office in DC is very cooperative if you have you ducks layed out with their bellies up.

The office does not take the first come first served method. The look at the easy ones first and work on the harder ones at the same time.

Roze Ann
May 19th, 2003, 01:44 PM
Hey Bob thanks for saying something about the state level office of TM. YES much more affordable. Luckily in this state you cannot register a TM until you have used it. And I have not even seen the name we plan to use around here much less an actual trademark. Whew ! I may actually be able to afford a real TM after all. Yeppie! I owe ya :-)

Frank Granovski
May 19th, 2003, 03:20 PM
Calico Media?
Calico Cat Media?
Purr-fect Media?
Feline Media?
Cat Den Media?
Meow Media?
Cat's Corner Productions
Cat's Corner Media
DV & Media?
ProMedia Solutions?
DeskPro Media?
Vision1 Video
9Lives Media
Final Cut Media
DV Info Media? :)

Roze Ann
May 19th, 2003, 10:09 PM
Hey Frank thanks for all the cool suggestions! I've posted a logo idea at:
http://www.pyehouse.com/fcm/ (couldn't find the copyright symbol key so spelled it out...lol)
Please (anyone) view and let me know what ya think: ezor7@yahoo.com THANKS AGAIN ...y'all are "the bomb" :-)

Joseph George
May 20th, 2003, 03:00 AM
The name must be easy to remember; the two words should, if possible, sound similar and the whole name should be as short as possible (Ford, Shell, Sony), etc. Suggestions:

Media2000.com
Media21.com
TopMedia.com
MediaUSA.com
IdeaMedia.com
MediaAmerica.con
SuperMedia.com
ArtMedia.com
HDmedia.com
Studio2000.com
3DMedia.com
PerfectMedia.com
MagicMedia.com
DreamMedia.com

Register it at godaddy.com -- $9/year. If you want to save $, just register the .com version.

Frank Granovski
May 20th, 2003, 04:12 AM
"May 2003 copyright"

Should be:

Copyright, May, 2003, your name or company name.

You may use the symbol or the word, copyright, or both. At least that's how I learned it in journalism.


---------------------------------------------------------------------
In German, all nouns are capitalized!

Garret Ambrosio
May 20th, 2003, 12:36 PM
If you file a fictious name statement with your city and post the fictious business name in the paper, technically this is a trademark, (tm), albeit it is not a registered trademark which will carry more rights with it, but your trademark will be proctected without registration, consult with a patent attorney to see what you will need to do. But many businesses do not register their trademarks but has the right to sue if someone was to violate or copy their trademark.

John Locke
May 20th, 2003, 06:03 PM
Nice design, Roze Ann. Simple, clear, and stylish.

In your HTML code, just put the following

& c o p y ;

(but be sure to delete the spaces between the letters...I had to do that so it wouldn't become a copyright symbol in this example) and it will appear as

©

Nigel Moore
May 21st, 2003, 02:38 AM
I like your logo Roze Anne, but wouldn't it look more stylish if the line art was the same colour as the page text, and the background was black (or transparent if made as a GIF)?

Since it's simple line art, saving as a GIF would also allow you to drop the file size. 48k for a line-art logo is a bit steep, especially if any of your prospective customers are on dial-up.

Roze Ann
May 21st, 2003, 02:47 AM
Hey Folks...well I've taken all your terrific advice to heart. I'm having a little trouble producing a clean transparent .gif on PS 7.0 (use to the old way to do it via PS 5.5) Anyway..I did change the background and did a reverse on the logo itself. Just have super basic, basic info for now. Will "jazz it up" over the next week or so and add lots of cool links (this site being top o the list), photos, etc. I checked in to the state level TM registration which is very affordable so that's underway. So much to code, so little time (lol)! Here's the URL:

http://www.fatcatmedia.biz

I asked the fella with ".com" & ".net" if he would be interested in selling but he wants to keep the names even though they are only parked for now. Will add more soooon.

Nigel Moore
May 21st, 2003, 03:52 AM
Looks good, but the image is now about 56k. Have you tried using PS's Save For Web (File > Save For Web)? It allows you to balance quality vs. file size and is a real help in web graphic design.

Paul Tauger
May 21st, 2003, 05:18 AM
Roze, make sure you go over to www.uspto.gov and do a search on registered trademarks. All three selections sound like something that very likely may already have been registered.

Rob Lohman
May 21st, 2003, 07:42 AM
Roze,

I converted your FatCat (tm) picture from JPG to a 16 colo(u)r
GIF file. It is now only 5.5 kb large instead of 55.0 kb. I am
sending it to you by e-mail! There is no quality loss in the
image, so no problems there...

Bob Deming
May 21st, 2003, 12:34 PM
Roze

Went over to

http://www.fatcatmedia.biz/

and checked out that little pussy cat. Looks good.

Hope you get a tm.

Richard Alvarez
May 21st, 2003, 01:55 PM
Lots of "legal" advice being bandied about. Here's mine...

Hire a lawyer.

People on this board are confusing copyright with trademark, trademark with servicemark, US with international, assumed name and dba papers...

It really is worth the time and money to hire a lawyer to do a full search. The trademark office might bump you for "Likelyhood of confusion" even if your name is silmilar to another trademark... it doesn't have to be identical.

Bob Deming
May 21st, 2003, 03:03 PM
You don't need a lawyer for what you are doing.

It is a simple process and the trademark office works very well with you.

Just follow the rules that are on the gov's website and you will be fine.

The last person to contact at this point is a damn attorney.

Put together what you have and send it in with you $35 bucks or whatever it is now.

They will get back to you and if they have found something conflicting they will let you know. They will send you documentation of the conficts.

If they accept then you did it the right way.

FYI

I deal with attorneys much more than the average person. I deal with a patent attorney and criminal attorneys and I have the best in Tucson. That's a fact.

There are about 4 dirty lawyers in Tucson that would just love to see me dead! Why, you ask. Well it doesn't take much to be an attorney. Just graduate and hire a good secretary and goffer.

Attorneys don't know all the laws. They have to look it up in a book. Patent attorneys as well.

A good patent attorney has a goffer in DC that does the search. The attorney doesn't do anything but take the money from you. PERIOD. His secretary fills in the forms and he signs the documents.

So always do your homework before you hire an attorney (for any purpose) be it a trust account, accident, criminal or divorce. The law is there for you to read and after you do if you don't understand you can get it off the internet most of the time.

The internet is a great source of legal info and attorneys hate it because the internet tells the public to much. It takes money away from the pocket.

You can get the entire government system from the internet including items that the gov doesn't want you to know but they have to post it, its the law.

Keep this in mind. If your state, like the state of Arizona allows you to tape record conversations between you and all parties involved, then tape it. In Arizona we don't have to tell the person that we are talking to that we are taping (unless it is on the tele, or we have to have little beeps). This law saved me lots of money when I was dealing with a dirty lawyer. I told the jerk that if he charged me I would play the tape for the judge.

Sometimes your accountant can help you more than a lawyer.

So Again, Save The Attorney For The Last Resort. When You Do You Save Money And Your Time.

Richard Alvarez
May 21st, 2003, 03:49 PM
"You don't need a lawyer for what you are doing"

No, you just need $335 for the initial application, and the ability to fill it out correctly. ANy mistake will cost you $335.

No refunds.

Roze Ann
May 21st, 2003, 03:52 PM
Ok...now that I've caught my breath from LAUGHING hysterically (you guys are great 'free' entertainment) ...here's where it is. All the advice is good. NO information is ever 'bad' unless it's ignored. I realize that some info may be wrong but that's different. Thanks to all the good comments I did a mountain of research and phone calls and as of today have the "service mark" process underway in N. Carolina for the cat logo which includes the words "FAT CAT MEDIA" underneath. The www.uspto.gov site was very helpful. Fat Cat is registered but no Fat Cat Media. As for the site "fatcatmedia.tv" ...I've done a search at "whois" and cannot even find info there on this site although it is clearly up and running. My thinking...that site provides a different type service anyway...and their "look" is totally different. We are not in conflict on services or logo. Just potentially the name and I've done all I can do to register 'first'.

Roze Ann
May 21st, 2003, 03:57 PM
BTW, I am very blessed to actually know not 1 but 2! honest attorneys here in Raleigh. One is a patent atty. who attends our church (he just graduated) and the other is an AWESOME real estate atty. who helped us in this way. We had a crooked home inspector, lying sellers, bad sellers agent, you name it - we had it. Could NOT afford an atty. but this one came very highly recommended. Long story short he agreed to check my work for legal accuracy on our claim to the inspectors E & O insurance. It took over 15 months and he charged us a total of $780. Our damage claim was right at $15,000. The ins. co. 1st offer was $10,000! We settled out of court for almost the entire amount of damages because I have a habit of photographing to death everything. It saved us along with a guardian angel who happened to be an attorney. We pray a LOT and count on the Lord to save our tushies. It works. Best guarantee going...God. So that's why I'm laughing so hard. Y'all are great and very passionate about this stuff. Couldn't have gotten a better answer to prayer.

Roze Ann
May 21st, 2003, 04:01 PM
The fee in N. Carolina to register a trademark or servicemark is $75. The folks there were terrific and even notarized the papers for free (a rarity here). The gal in the office went through ever line of entry with me to make sure I had it correct. Just guessing but I think she's been there since ...well....a looongggg time. It's all worked out terrific! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Peace & Blessings! Roze

Bob Deming
May 21st, 2003, 04:53 PM
Roze,

Now that you have it fixed the only thing anyone can do is take it away from you.

In 1982 I designed a logo for my company; Space Promotions International, Inc. One of my failures!

NASA said it looked to much like one of theirs and they tried to keep me from using it. See, I sent NASA some mail with the logo affixed.

Another guy in Alabama, at the space center (his name was Bugsby or Buzby) said he had already made one and sent it in and it was to close to mine.

Shorter story. I won. I beat NASA and the jerk at the space center.

They both had to pay me damages and my attorney fees. They wanted my simple little black and white logo real bad. I'm going to be using it this summer when my wife opens here doors in Tucson. Tucson doesn't have what she is going to do. No competition is nice.

The basic law is the date of the initial use of the logo or when designed and used or made public. You can mail yourself and not open the envelope but this has been beat in court also.

Good Luck

Joseph George
May 23rd, 2003, 10:53 AM
All you need to do is add TM behind your name. You can register a lot later, possibly years; I am not sure. Since someone owns the .com version already, and ever decides to make it a register trademark, you lose. The .biz suffix is another thing to remember and people who will remember your name will be most likely to start inputing .com in their brooser initially. The .com owner will then be able to get free promotion/business from your name. Check with the trademark office if there is not a similar name already registered. Their search is free.

Paul Tauger
May 23rd, 2003, 11:17 AM
Okay, time to jump in here and correct some incredibly bad information given by, I assume, well-meaning people.

First, selecting a company name is not a simple decision. Choose the wrong one and you'll find yourself sued for trademark infringement (a lot of my clients first come to me when exactly this happens). Some names are more protectable than others, some names aren't protectable at all. Only a "damn lawyer" who practices trademark law can tell you.

I have a current client who is constantly at odds with competitors because she made the mistake of choosing what was probably the weakest protectable trademark for her products -- great products, bad mark, and lots of litigation and disputes as a result.

Next, state trademark registraton is complete waste of time and money (IMNSOHO). State-granted rights are coextensive with, and cannot exceed, federal common law rights. In other words, you have exactly the same rights in an unregistered trademark under federal law as you would with a state trademark registration. Get a federal registration. It's not that much money to register a federal trademark, and most people can do it themselves without a lawyer's assistance. The USPTO has a website where you can do the registration on line.

Any mark that anyone is considering using as a trademark or service mark should be, at minimum, researched on-line at the USPTO website. You have to make sure that no one else is using the same or similar mark for the same types of services or goods -- otherwise, at best, your registration will be rejected. At worst, you'll find yourselves sued for trademark infringement.

Adding "TM" after a name does virtually nothing. Arguably, it puts people on notice that you are using the name as a trademark and may help prove that the infringement was intentional if you have to sue.

Moving on . . .

Attorneys don't know all the laws. They have to look it up in a book.
Utter nonsense. My IP practice is, primarily, trademark. I don't have to look up anything to answer the kind of questions that are being asked here. You are confused about the nature of the judicial system in the US. The US is a common law jurisdiction, meaning that application of the law is determined by examining prior court decisions which addressed similar situations, i.e. precedent. Application of the law will vary somewhat from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. What attorneys "look up" is how courts have previously addressed similar factual patterns.


A good patent attorney has a goffer in DC that does the search. The attorney doesn't do anything but take the money from you. PERIOD. His secretary fills in the forms and he signs the documents.
More nonsense (and I use that term in its most euphemistic sense). With respect to patent, only patent-bar admitted attorneys can draft applications (it's called "patent prosecution"). I'm not patent-bar admitted, so _I_ don't do patent prosecution. I _do_ ocassionally do patent litigation. I don't have "gofers" who do searches.

As for trademark, you're completely off-base. When a client wants to register a trademark, I usually recommend a firm called Thomson & Thomson, which specializes in trademark searchs (but registered and common law). They produce a report, which _I_ use to review and evaluate availability and likelihood of conflicts. No one but an attorney is competent to make that determination.

The internet is a great source of legal info and attorneys hate it because the internet tells the public to much. It takes money away from the pocket.
The problem with the internet is that it is a great source of information, both erroneous and accurate, misleading and correct. I don't know anyone who "hates" the internet "because it tells the public too much." I certainly do hate it when non-lawyers give incorrect and potentially dangerous advice, which many seem prone to do. I don't what it is about law that convinces so many people that "common sense" is an adequate substitute for a legal education.

Richard Alvarez
May 23rd, 2003, 11:28 AM
Well said Paul. I fugured you would jump in at some point.

I showed the thread to my wife, (Also an IP/trademarks attorney) and she just shook her head and shrugged. She also suggested that if someone were intent on doing it themselves, they get the NOLO press books, and read up before filing.

Bob Deming
May 23rd, 2003, 12:50 PM
Typical attorney type response.

All attorneys lie. Their purposed is to get around the law.

Next time you are in the SW, like Tucson we can discuss this in front of a real patent attorney at the University of Arizona. He has worked with NASA, IBM, Revlon, HP, "me" and a total of about 50 "F500' companies.

I got my trademark on my own. It was simple. I did all the work, took the paperwork into John's office and he said looks great! I asked him for input and he changed one paragraph after reviewing my work.

If I would have had him do all the work and play the attorney games he said it would have cost $5,000.00. It cost me about $1,400.00 and that included giving him $300 to review the paperwork.

A state TM does mean something in Arizona when you first begin the process. But of course it doesn't stop there.

And you will probably tell us all that we need an attorney for a "copywrite". That would be BS.

It doesn't matter who signs the damn papers. Is the attorney going to take full responsibility? NO! Will the attorney charge you for additional time if he screwed up, YES!

With access to the US CODE on the internet and every other code it is not necessary to use an attorney until you need one.

The extreme problem with the general public is that most are stupid. They prove it every day.

They watch attorney ads on TV and the believe them.

They get into a car accident and they call an attorney before they anything else.

I retired at 44 (10yrs ago (without family finacial support) because I could slice attorneys very thin. There are a few here in Tucson that will walk out of court if they see me sitting with my attorneys and my accountant.

Seems like they just don't like to deal with the Deming and Kidwell Families.

I know someone in Deming New Mexico that loves to give attorneys speeding tickets and if he doesn't like them he puts them in jail for a few hours.

LOL

Paul Tauger
May 23rd, 2003, 01:12 PM
Typical attorney type response.Typical uninformed layperson response.
All attorneys lie. Their purposed is to get around the law.No, Bob, all attorneys don't lie. Most attorneys take their ethical obligations very seriously. And their purpose is not "to get around the law." We are all bound to follow it.
Next time you are in the SW, like Tucson we can discuss this in front of a real patent attorney at the University of Arizona. He has worked with NASA, IBM, Revlon, HP, "me" and a total of about 50 "F500' companies.I'm a "real" attorney, Bob, and I've represented Fortune 500 companies as well. I don't, for one minute, believe that he told you anything like this. If he did, he is, to put it charitably, an idiot and an embarrassment to the profession. However, as I said, I don't, for one moment, believe he ever told you anything like this.
I got my trademark on my own. It was simple. I did all the work, took the paperwork into John's office and he said looks great! I asked him for input and he changed one paragraph after reviewing my work.You need to read much more carefully. I've already said, several times, that anyone can get their own trademark registrationwithout an attorney's assistance. The issue isn't getting the registration, but evaluating the mark and making a determination as to whether it's protectable, strong, infringing, etc.
A state TM does mean something in Arizona when you first begin the process.A state trademark doesn't mean anything, because the only rights it grants are coextensive with those available for unregistered common law marks. See 15 U.S.C. 1125(a). I've litigated this SPECIFIC issue a number of times, including to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
And you will probably tell us all that we need an attorney for a "copywrite". That would be BS.The term is "copyright," and, no, anyone can easily (and cheapily) register their own copyright.
It doesn't matter who signs the damn papers. Is the attorney going to take full responsibility? NO! Will the attorney charge you for additional time if he screwed up, YES!More "nonsense" (again, using the term euphemistically). First, attorneys are absolutely liable for their negligence, which is why all of us carry malpractice insurance. Second, a non-infringement opinion from an attorney, even if ultimately wrong, is prima facie evidence of an infringement being _unintentional_.
With access to the US CODE on the internet and every other code it is not necessary to use a damn attorney until you need one. I will not discuss my politics, nor anyone else's, in this forum -- it is singularly inappropriate to do so. I will only say that your assumptions are consistent, which is to say, always wrong. As for your statement about "access to the US CODE on the internet and every other code," you could not be more wrong. As I've already explained to you, law in the US is based on precedent, a principle called stare decisis. Even assuming you could understand the code sections, which are not written in plain English, but in terms of art that have very specific legal meaning, you would not have either the access or ability to construe prior decisional law.
The extreme problem with the general public is that most are stupid. They prove it every day. I will resist temptation, and not point out the obvious.
They watch attorney ads on TV and the believe them.The only lawyers who advertise on television are personal injury and family law lawyers. They have as much in common with intellectual property lawyers and business litigation lawyers as . . . well . . . you.

Paul Tauger
May 23rd, 2003, 01:16 PM
If I would have had him do all the work and play the attorney games he said it would have cost $5,000.00. It cost me about $1,400.00 and that included giving him $300 to review the paperwork.
No one charges this kind of money for a trademark registration. Even at my old firm, which was a "big firm practice" top-dollar-charged place, a straight-forward registration, i.e. no office actions, no oppositions, cost about $1200, which included the T&T search.

Looks like you've been hanging around with the wrong attorneys.

Ken Tanaka
May 23rd, 2003, 02:47 PM
As a bystander, to-date, to this thread I think that Paul has been extremely patient and generous in responding to many remarks made in this thread. In so doing, he's provided us with a veritable NOLO Press reference on this subject!

My experiences with attorneys in my former corporate life coincide with Paul's remarks. Contrary to what the news and entertainment media have fed to us over the years, I've never worked with an attorney who didn't take pride in his/her diligence and ability to foresee hazards. That's their job, and it can be an extremely difficult one. Every attorney with which I've worked (private as well as my corporate counsel) has practiced their profession with the same craftsmanship and precision as any engineer. And that's the role that they play; they engineer formal relationships between parties and between individuals and the general social fabric.

Categorical remarks such as "all attorneys lie" are unjustified and demean the speaker, not the target, of such remarks. Words like "always" and "never" are far too powerful for thoughtful people to use indiscriminately.

Regardless of what prejudices you may harbor in your heart, Paul does not deserve to be indicted by association. He has given us a tremendous amount of professional guidance and reference since joining DVInfo and we're lucky to have him with us.

Rob Wilson
May 23rd, 2003, 02:55 PM
Ken, HERE HERE!!

and Paul, thanks for all the info you provide.

All of us would probably get along better if we individually evaluated the info provided on this board an came to our own conclusions without condemming the messenger.

Bob, sorry to hear you have had so many legal difficulties. Hope the rest of us or more fortunate.

Richard Alvarez
May 23rd, 2003, 03:52 PM
Well said again Paul.

I think it is interesting that Bob doesn't think he needs an attorney untill ABSOLUTELY necessary... and then at the last possible moment.

There are plenty of people who share this philosophy towards mechanics as well as doctors.

They tend to have difficult and short lives.

Regards

Richard

Roze Ann
May 23rd, 2003, 04:02 PM
Hey Folks...man I'm almost sorry for bringing this up except that the info here is OUTSTANDING! One suggestion...for those who are being nice ..."thank you" for setting a good example. For others ...here is something to think about ...the folks contributing to this website stand to gain nothing. They are generous with info and kind in response. When making comments PLEASE consider not only WHAT you say but HOW you say it. I understand in some ways why some folks have a harsh view of attorneys and believe me I have a looonnggggg story (too long for here) that I could relate on getting TOTALLY screwed by an attorney and the court system of Texas not once but TWICE!

Roze Ann
May 23rd, 2003, 04:05 PM
Here's the deal...we are so blessed to live in a country that has the freedom to choose...in so many ways. You can CHOOSE not to use an atty. but you can also choose to "CYA" by hiring one and it's (usually) money well spent. Like many folks my initial reaction to the word attorney is still "AAAAHHHH" but because of the good one here it's changing. Hence...the nicer we are to each other the sooner momentum will begin to change. Again this comes from someone who was royally shafted by an atty in Texas. Yet the real estate atty I met here was AWESOME. Bottom line...you make your decisions and your decisions make you. Research, research, research. It's the 'only way to fly' and that's exactly what I'm doing before going through with the USPTO registration. So far so good and all thanks to this discussion!

Aaron Rosen
May 24th, 2003, 12:08 AM
Hey Roze!

Have not heard from you for a bit. Looking forward to the final name.

E-mail me.

- AR

Roze Ann
May 24th, 2003, 12:58 PM
Would you please email me at: fatcatmedia@yahoo.com I'm SOOOOO sorry I've slipped up a bit. Craziness around here. Look forward to emailing.

Roze Ann
September 10th, 2003, 01:26 AM
Hey Aaron... I have not forgotten about you. It has been an incredibly busy summer. Had surgery, got the biz up and running, started a doc, working at Habitat... so much to do, so little time it seems! Thank goodness days aren't 40 hours. 24 is enough. Neeeeeed sleeeeeep :-)

About FAT CAT MEDIA... we are OFFICIAL! As of August 21, 2003 Fat Cat Media is now incorporated!!! We ARE going to register the tradename/mark or I believe more accurately the service mark. But I'm glad we waited on the national registration. I've searched "uspto.gov" regularly and have found nothing that directly conflicts with FCM. There are lots of companies with the name "Fat Cat" but not "Media" included, not with "inc." included and not with our specific logo.

Now that we are an "inc." I have added that bit of info to the logo art. Our patent attorney friend is reviewing my app. to "uspto" for free (Thanks Ryan!) and it will go out soooooon. The statewide registration was fine for us while everything else was coming together. Now we can go for national registration fully set-up and the nat'l registration will trumph the state registration. Important because we are adding the "inc".

It worked out very well and THANK YOU to all who helped with our process. Please visit the site as there are new entries under the "Completed Projects" and "Current Projects" links. Also we have FOUND our trailer for "Myrtles' Garden" which is currently being set up as an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Lord is good! I cannot thank everyone enough for the awesome advice and spirited discussion. More to follow! :)