MarkWatch Creates FAQ Video on Plant Trademark Usage
MarkWatch has released a new video answering frequently asked questions about the proper usage of trademarks.
The video answers questions a business might have after being contacted by MarkWatch. Questions such as “What is a trademark?” or “When should I use italics?” and “When do I need to use the registered trademark or unregistered trademark when referencing a protected plant name?” are answered in this informative video, plus many more.
“Trademarks, plant patents, and trying to keep up with the proper nomenclature can be very confusing,” says Alec Charais, chief marketing and product development officer at Bailey Nurseries. “It is our mission at MarkWatch to bring awareness to the industry about the importance of displaying the trademark or patent appropriately in all communications – catalogs, availabilities, online, etc. It is important to distinguish the trademark, cultivar or variety name, and a genus or species and use them appropriately so the value of that intellectual property isn’t compromised.”
MarkWatch is comprised of five industry partners – Bailey, J. Frank Schmidt & Son, Plant Development Services, Spring Meadow Nursery and Star Roses and Plants – and was created to educate and inform the proper use of trademarks and plant patents.
MarkWatch represents 13 major plant brands to ensure the intellectual property they invest in and that makes their plants so unique is used consistently across the nursery industry.
Over the past 5-6 years, MarkWatch representatives have monitored industry trademarks, reaching out to growers and retailers to help educate and inform when a mark may be misused.
“This is a collaboration that I am very proud to be a part of,” says Charais, “because let’s face it, everyone in this industry is busy and doing the best they can. When someone receives a notification from MarkWatch, the interaction is very positive and we get many growers and retailers that contact us the following year just to check in and make sure they are up to date with their information. That kind of proactive collaboration is really cool to see.”
The MarkWatch FAQ video can be accessed at https://markwatchplants.com/info-resources/frequently-asked-questions
For more information about MarkWatch resources, visit MarkWatchPlants.com.
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