Are You Protecting Your Intellectual Property?

If you’re like most business owners, chances are that the answer to this question is either “No” or “I don’t know.” Two recent cases in the Cleveland area drive home the notion that businesses have to protect what they’ve worked so hard to develop.

In the first, the Cleveland Metroparks, which run the Cleveland Zoo, sued the Pittsburgh Zoo for infringing up its trademarks. The Cleveland Zoo has long hosted its annual Asian Lantern Festival that routinely serves as one its largest events. Last year, it generated $2.6 million in revenue. The Pittsburgh Zoo (Pittsburgh being Pittsburgh, after all) has decided to copy this, describing it as a “bold new adventure.”

It will be interesting see how this case plays out, particularly since the Cleveland Zoo didn’t apply for its trademark registration until days before suing the Pittsburgh Zoo.

In the second case, United States District Court Judge Pamela Barker found that one restaurant chain’s trade dress was not worthy of legal protection. The local chain Barrio, known for street-style tacos ordered off a chit (an idea stolen from the world-famous Happy Dog) was unhappy when one its employees left and open Condado Tacos. Barrio argued that, essentially, Condado stole its identity from Barrio by copying Barrio’s business. The Court ruled that attempts by Barrio to protect its uber-cool vibe fail (or, as the Court put it, “vibe,” which by continued use of quotation marks around the term, further diminished Barrio’s arguments). The Court ruled that Barrio’s concepts or styles of service are not trade dress, nor are Barrio’s kitschy Day of the Dead murals, mason jar glasses or paper-towels-in-lieu-of-napkins inherently distinctive.

Moral of the story? Business have to take the steps to properly protect their intellectual property from the get-go. If you haven’t done so already, do it now.

To read more about the Cleveland Zoo’s lawsuit, click here.

To read more the Court’s opinion in Barrio’s loss, click here.