 So, yeah, I think for this session right now, we're going to momentarily step away from really nitty-gritty legal stuff for free software and talk about something that has more practical use on the commercial side of things if you're developing and looking to monetize or distribute your your software project. So we're going to take a look at trademarks. Right, so to give you a quick breakdown of what we're going to talk about in this segment I'll give some definitions of what a trademark is Why it's important to have a good name and logo for your software project? I'll go through some points to explain a trademark infringement and its consequences and Finally, we'll have some minor tips to how to check for and how to register your trademark So what is a trademark? Yeah, basically it is a sign Used by a person or an organization or a company etc etc to distinguish their product to distinguish a product or service From that of a competitor So it can be a name. It can be a logo a design even a color used in a certain way Yeah, but names and logos are usually the most common trademarks that are out there So basically by recognizing the trademark Users or company users or customers can identify which product or which service originates from a particular source or a particular company So yeah up on the slide, you know, you can see examples of the various trademarks. I'm sure you're familiar with Yeah, the logo of a company can be a trademark. For example, you know the the yellow M of McDonald's or the swoosh for Nike But also the name itself, you know, the name Nike is a trademark in itself I'm sorry as the name McDonald's for their respective industries So, why are we talking about trademarks now? Yeah, basically when a user is searching for a piece of software or an app to fix a problem that they're working with or to Do something the first thing that they will encounter when they come across your software project is of course its name or its logo It's therefore important, you know that you Come up with a good name make a good impression and Unfortunately named project, you know can slow down its adoption If people do not take the name seriously for example, or if people Have trouble remembering the name of your project so Some things to consider Would be to give a name that gives users an idea of what the project is about or Related to what the project is being used for and Yeah, as was, you know one that's easy to remember. I think that you know for plenty of developers they Have this idea that if the code and if the the app is effective enough in doing what it does That would just automatically means it gets adopted I would agree that the efficacy of a particular piece of a particular software project does play a part in How it gets adopted and how effectively it gets adopted by its user base But I think that there's something more as well if you're looking to commercialize your project We have to be aware that there's so many different apps Programs software out there in the ecosystem So I think that there is some commercial value at least to make sure that your project stands out And capture the interest of the user The important thing about trademarks is that you know Trademarks are exclusive You can't use a name or a logo that's already trademarked by another company or another organization There's an asterisk to this which I will get back to but generally that is the underlying principle Yeah, basically, this means you're not allowed to use the name of a logo of a similar project the Yeah, and if the unauthorized use of the logo or a name of Another company another project would result in trademark infringement and that means getting sued so I'm sure that's what everybody is trying to avoid So yeah, avoid that So it's important to note that you know trademark infringement. It's not just about using the same name or Logo, it's also using something that is substantially similar The main question to ask is if I use this logo Will it cause confusion within the customer base or the user base? About where the product or service that I'm using originates from So what the law is concerned here is just basically to avoid this confusion It also protects the trademark holder Or basically your company From any damage to your reputation That can arise to you know a difference in quality of the product or service Provided by a copycat or an infringer So as an example, you can take a look at what I have up on the slide here You have on the left Starbucks coffee and you have on the right Satara box Cafe, which is a copycat. It's it's yeah, it's a copycat So the logos look similar they have the similar a similar design a similar layout, you know Some things have changed so they're not exactly the same, but they are similar so I Think a lot of people would argue that you know, yeah, if you look at the the copycat on the right There's no way you're gonna confuse that with Starbucks coffee, but this is some this is an example that I've chosen that contains Quite a substantial amount of difference There are logos out there that you know actually actively try to confuse and try to take credit for What what companies have done with their product in order to just like get quick quick and easy business So if Starbucks right now sues the copycat for trademark infringement The question for the courts would then be you know, would someone who is going into a coffee shop to grab Starbucks coffee? Would they be confused or would they be confused that they're getting Satara Bax coffee or if When they're not yeah, and if they get food poisoning if they go to Satara Bax cafe Would they think that they got that that Starbucks is responsible for their food poisoning? So the court has then to make a judgment on this and it takes into account Numerous factors, you know in order to decide whether there's confusion within the customer base If they find that consumers are more likely to be confused then they would say okay Yes, the copycat is in fact infringing on the trademark of Starbucks But you know as I said, there's an asterisk to everything it really depends on the situation at hand In some cases the same name or sign can actually be used for two different companies if Their user bases are different enough for example if they are in two completely different industries So if we go back to this example again, let's say I mean Starbucks deals with FMB food and beverage And let's say Satara Bax instead of selling coffee. They sell vintage records something completely Disconnected from coffee so If the courts look at this and say okay everybody who goes to buy Starbucks coffee, they know what they're getting Everybody who goes to buy Satara Bax coffee. They know it's not Starbucks They know it's just you know vintage records then there is no confusion then It's very likely that you know the the trademarks are both allowed to stand and there is no infringement in this situation So yeah, this is all a very basic breakdown of the principles involved the statement to keep in mind is always it depends on the specific situation so Do I need to register my trademark? This is there is a similarity in trademarks to copyright in that You do not need to do anything in order for you to have copyright similarly, you know, there's no real obligation to apply for a trademark or to register a trademark in order for a name or logo to be Used for your project in other words. Yeah You can have an unregistered trademark and you can use the letters like TM trademark To serve as a notice to the public that this particular name this particular logo You are using it as a trademark and it is unregistered However, you know, if you don't register your trademark, you run several risks You run the risk that someone down the line might actually register your that specific name or that specific logo With the authorities, which would be troublesome for you so if if this happens what what happens is that you know, if you want to dispute this Copycat trademark that has already registered their trademark while you haven't then you have to come up You know, you have to produce evidence that you know, you came up with the the the name or the logo first You started using it first to sell your products or to to distribute your app You have to show that's widely recognized by the public and your user base and that is specifically that your user base specifically associates this mark with your app or to your software or to your goods and services and not to the Copycat or the competitor, etc. etc. So whenever you try to dispute something like this it takes time money and effort and That's something that I think we all want to avoid If you do register your trademark, however, you know, you you gain a certain number of advantages and additional protections These vary in details depending on which country or jurisdiction you register your trademark in But the basic protection is that you know the authorities the state formally recognizes that you are the person Using this trademark So anybody who comes along to one who wants to dispute this they have to go through what I just mentioned you know all the time effort and money to dispute your use of the trademark which places them in a more difficult situation because the burden of proof is now on them and Registered trademarks, you know, you can append this R To indicate that yeah, this logo or this this name is being used as a registered trademark So what are the consequences of trademark infringement? Facing a lawsuit would be costly You know payment of monetary damages to the original trademark owner legal fees court fees Attorney fees blah blah blah Additionally, you know at the end of the day, you know, if you lose you still need to come up with a new name anyway at the end of the process and By doing so, you know, you can potentially or it's most likely that you will alienate your user base or confuse them Because you have to explain why you're changing your trademark you have to explain to them Why something that they're familiar with is now being replaced with something else in? Yeah, it's therefore vital that you check that the name that you intend to use for your project is not already taken or substantially similar to an Already existing trademark So How do you check if your potential? Name or logo for your software project is already trademarked. Yeah, you can run a search for trademarks That would conflict with the name you've chosen with the EU IPO The EU Intellectual Property Office or at the WIPO the world Intellectual Property Office global brand database at the following links that up on the slide so Photos if you're interested. Yeah, and it doesn't cost you anything to do a search on these websites I mean additionally, you know, it's also good to do a search for unregistered trademarks as well to see if there's any potential conflict with Existing marks that are already out there in the wild, you know, just Do this with simple online searches Look in public source code repositories and you know check domain names Just see if there's anyone out there who's already using your mark and the same name as your project Right, what do you get out of registering your project name as a trademark? So it grants you exclusive rights in all current and future member states of the European Union you can up obtain these rights through a single registration and there is a guide for how to do so at this website and Unfortunately, it can be pricey I mean it costs 850 euros to do this Yeah, so but at the end of the day, you know, it's important that you make the decision as to whether there's a potential confusion With the name that you're using and the mark that you're using And whether this is a worthwhile investment for you and your project it because especially if your goal is to Eventually commercialize and monetize and distribute your software. So, yeah, I hope this was Practical and useful for you Gives you some food for thought about trademarks and free software projects. So Thank you