Ask a Jewish Lawyer^®

Branding and business strategy from a trademark attorney and founder.

Scalable Vs. Non-Scalable Business: A Comparison

Why JPG Legal is Stagnant and Communer is Growing

I have two companies, Communer and JPG Legal, with thoroughly different business models. 

The first, JPG Legal, is a law firm, which is a kind of professional or personal service company. Though we don’t bill by the hour like other law firms, our clients still pay for the time and effort of qualified employees. 

Because we’re a personal service company, our business is not scalable. In other words, JPG Legal is not a “startup.” Any growth in revenue we experience must be accompanied by an increase in prices or in hours worked by employees. Our margins are relatively low and they don’t increase when our business gets bigger. We also don’t have a “moat” to protect us from competitors copying our business model, which further limits our growth.

Aren’t Many of the Biggest Startups Personal Service Businesses?

You might point out that many of the biggest, most successfully scaled startups provide personal services, like Uber or DoorDash. However, these companies are not personal service businesses themselves, they’re marketplaces for third party service providers. They don’t have to take on new employees to provide services when demand goes up. 

USPTO ID.me Verification for Trademark Filings: What Is This?

If you’ve tried to submit any trademark filings in the US after August 6, you might have been surprised to see that the USPTO now requires you to get your identification verified by something called ID.me. You may have wondered, “What is this? Do I really have to do this? How much work is this going to be?”

Here are my answers to these questions, along with some context.

What Is ID.me and What Does It Have to Do with Trademarks?

ID.me is a private company that offers identity verification services and has contracts with various government agencies including the IRS and several state unemployment offices. 

Citing its own unproven estimate that hundreds of millions of dollars are lost each year due to unemployment fraud, ID.me convinced dozens of state unemployment agencies to hire it to screen applicants for unemployment insurance. 

Trademark Renewal Timeline: How Often Do You Have To Renew?

People often ask me how often you have to renew a trademark in the United States. I wish the answer were simple. I could say “every ten years” and technically be correct, but that would be misleading because it doesn’t actually answer the question people are asking.

Yes, it’s true that you don’t need to file a Section 9 renewal for your U.S. trademark until 9 to 10 years after your trademark is registered, and every ten years after that. But there’s something else that you have to file between five and six years after you reach registration, and for some reason the USPTO doesn’t call it a renewal. 

Client Spotlight: Juhn Hits 500 Million Streams for One Song

As you may already know, our firm files a lot of applications for music trademarks. One client of ours, Juhn, has managed to hit it big within the last couple of years. He wisely hired us in 2019 to file a trademark application for “Juhn” when his streaming numbers were in the single-digit millions.

As a fan of Latin trap and a resident of Loisaida in Manhattan at the time, I was very excited that the Puerto Rico-based artist had decided to work with JPG Legal to secure his name. Two years later, the reggaeton song “Bandido” that he co-wrote and performed with Myke Towers has over half a billion streams on Spotify alone.

Because he took action when he was 100 times less famous than he is now, he doesn’t have to worry about counterfeiters and artists with similar names filing trademark applications. He reached registration in late 2020 and now his name is secure. 

Sadly, many of the musicians who hire us only start thinking about trademark rights when one of three things happens:

Software Trademark Guide: Classes and Specimens

When you file a trademark application, you have to file for specific goods or services within one or more of the 45 trademark classes. A software trademark can fall under class 9 or class 42, depending on what type of software it is. Many trademark applicants file for software in the wrong class. This mistake is very easy to make. 

In this guide, I’ll go over the differences between the two main trademark classes for software and how to choose the right one. I’ll then give examples of specimens and allegations-of-use using two hypothetical examples: a downloadable app and a web-based SaaS product.

Legal Mistakes Every Startup Company Should Avoid Making

It can be easy to overlook legal matters that seem unnecessary while developing your business. More importantly, hiring lawyers and filing paperwork may seem like a financial luxury you can’t yet afford. However, avoiding legal matters could lead to issues with compliance, contracts, or stolen intellectual property down the road. 

Not hiring lawyers because of financial concerns is one of the most common legal mistakes that startup founders make. In addition, some business owners also neglect to sign well-defined shareholder contracts for fear of driving potential investors away.

These issues may not seem imminently important, but not handling them early in the process can lead to expensive litigation. Accounting for these legal factors is necessary for a successful business. 

An Affordable Trademark Attorney

As an affordable trademark attorney, I occupy a strange niche. JPG Legal has just hit $5 million in total revenue since I launched the firm online in mid-2017. In that time, I’ve developed a clear picture of our target client. 

Or rather, both of our target clients, because the members of our target audience approach us from two very different perspectives. Some of our prospective clients see us as a cut-rate “budget” law firm. Others see us as an overpriced extravagance.  

One Client’s Budget Law Firm Is Another Client’s Bespoke Boutique

To conventional trademark attorneys who bill by the hour, who file about 30 trademark applications a year, and who don’t acquire their clients online, I’m a high-volume “trademark mill.” To them, any client who hires me is putting their business at risk for the sake of saving a few bucks. And to businesses with revenue of $10 million or more, I’m the budget law firm that they choose because they’re in a recession or because their current attorney’s fees are too high and unpredictable.

Leveraging Social Media To Elevate Your Business Strategy

Today’s consumers have come to expect a personalized experience from brands they follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As a business, you must be able to engage with your customers using these channels to compete in the digital age.